The Seal of Cleito
by Raya
Summary: A Sequel to Hell Water- Our heroes are plunged into the myths and mystery of the fabled 'Seal of Cleito' and Emma must come to face an unwholesome chapter of her past. Jack is IN CHARACTER - JackOC and WE- Ch 4 up!
1. Old Acquaintance

The Seal of Cleito

_(A/N- So there ye have it! THIS IS A SEQUEL!! It shall star all our beloved characters from the Hell Water, plus some new ones! And of course, ye can be sure that I'll keep Jack as in character as I possibly can! I hope that this fic meets with approval from my readers; I do greatly value your feedback.  It keeps me writing!! So please leave me your comments at the end of the chapter._

_I'm rating this fic 'R' for adult content (ie: Implied SEX and gratuitous foreplay) but it's not as explicit as a full-blown lemon or anything NC-17. Well… not on ff.net in any case!  This rating, however… applies only on rare occasions, 'The Seal of Cleito' is not going to be **just** about the romance… I should think you know me better than that, right? ^_~_

_Once again, I'd like to reiterate that this fic is a SEQUEL to 'The Secret of Hell Water'.  So- if you haven't read Hell Water yet, I suggest_ _ye read it BEFORE you read this story... If you don't, then you won't know my original character, and I'm not going to bother taking the pains to RE-introduce her in this fic. I'm writing this as a sequel with the notion that my readers are already familiar with my writing style, my original character, her personality, and her relationship to Jack Sparrow.) To find my first fic,' The Secret of Hell Water', you can go to my bio page for a link._

_*Disclaimer* I do not own The Pirates of the Caribbean canon characters, title, or any of that other stuff. I'm not making any money; I'm just writing fan fiction for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of its fans. I do however... own my original characters._

_Sorry for the long-winded authors note- okay, on with the story!_

Chapter 1- The Old Acquaintance 

It was an especially warm and muggy day in the port of Tortuga.  The summer season was blasting its final farewell heat before it would give way to the refreshing coolness of fall.  Many buccaneers and residents of the small French colony were anxious for the overbearing humidity to abate.  They went about their daily tasks with sweat running down from unwashed faces and shirts sticking unceremoniously to their backs.  It was days like this when shade was a welcoming relief.  And so those fortunate men and woman that were not required to be toiling in the mid-day sun could be found refreshing themselves over a drink or two at one of the many bars and taverns that dotted the main streets about the harbor.

            As luck would have it, on this very day, Jack Sparrow found himself in such a situation.  He dozed contentedly in a quiet corner of the Faithful Bride (for the notorious tavern was only to be found quiet in the hours of daylight), with both booted feet planted firmly on top of the table.  He leaned back precariously in a small wooden chair, so that two of it's front legs were a good six inches off of the ground.  His hat was cocked smartly down on his head, shielding his eyes from view. His hands rested gently on top of his stomach with interlocking fingers that sported many jeweled rings of both silver and several shades of gold.  A half full tankard of rum sat forgotten beside his left foot at the edge of the table.   A low snore drifted out from under the tri-cornered hat, which made one of the barmaids glance up at him curiously.

            A few seconds passed, and then the quiet stillness of the room was shattered as the front door creaked open abruptly, and Emma marched into the room.  The dark look that was on her face as she directed her gaze over to Jack's corner made both barmaids scamper quickly into the back room with muttered excuses about dishes that needed to be washed.

  The petite, golden haired woman strode confidently across the floor, easily side-stepping around scattered chairs and tables to Jack's corner.  She stood at the foot of the table with both hands planted firmly on her hips.  

She wore a snug fitting red bodice with a hint of gold scrollwork along the neckline.  Her off-white chemise had billowing sleeves that extended just past her elbow, and her large, full skirts were of a fine, unadorned black with a few slashes of gold circling just above the hem.  One side was pinned up in its usual manner, displaying a travel-stained, cream-colored petticoat. Her hair was wound atop her head in several coiled braids, with the exception of several loose, silky tendrils that fell down to frame her face and accentuate the curve of her neck. 

" Jack Sparrow?" She said this loudly enough so that her voice carried easily throughout the length of the room.

Jack was so startled out of his quiet slumber that he jerked upright with an oath, yanking a pistol out of his belt in reflex.  But the sudden movement made the chair he'd been so precariously balanced on topple backwards.  His feet, which had been on the table moments before flew up in the air as he fell and the half-full tankard of rum received an accidental kick and sailed through the air towards Emma, splashing her full in the face.

Emma blinked back stunned by the sudden assault.  She brought her hands up to wipe away the rum that was running down her face and glanced down at Jack peevishly.  Jack lay on his back on the ground.  He pushed his hat up over his eyes with one finger and glanced at her with a slightly annoyed expression.  The years that had passed since their adventure at Hell Water had not affected his appearance greatly.  His hair was still as dark and disheveled as it always was, with the exception of another strand of beads added and a few more coins decorating the ends of his long dreadlocks.  He had another gold tooth in his mouth, which gave a dull shimmer as he regarded Emma with a tiny hint of a smirk.  The few exceptions to his otherwise timeless appearance were some tiny crow's feet that appeared at the outer corners of his coal-lined eyes when he smiled, and a strand or two of silver that ran through his hair.  He also had a brand new, thin scar that ran diagonally from his hairline to the ridge of his cheekbone on the right side of his face.

" You wanted something, love?" He said as casually as he could in such an awkward position.

Emma peered down at him peevishly.  " Yes…I've come to warn you…"

" Oh? About what?"

" Elizabeth…" Emma said hotly, remembering her previous hurry.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her and propped himself up on his elbows. " And why would ye need to warn me about her, love?"

" She's coming this way." Emma said through clenched teeth. " And if she sees you, she may just bite your head off."

Jack had the grace to look unabashed at this comment.  He pursed his lips thoughtfully, then an idea seemed to dawn on him, and he shot Emma a dubious look.  " …Don't tell me… she didn't…?"  
            "Yes… she did…" Emma confirmed with a brisk nod.

" Ahh…" Jack winced visibly. " That would be the… what?"

" The fifth time…" Emma answered his unspoken question imperiously.

Jack's face fell.  Then, suddenly another bang echoed through the room as the door of the Faithful bride swung open in a wide arc.  Jack and Emma both swiveled their heads with a sudden growing sense of foreboding as the daunting figure of Elizabeth stormed in clutching the shirts of two struggling children in each hand. On her left side was a boy of about 9 years with short messy light brown hair.  His face and body were so dirty it looked as though he'd recently been rolling around in the mud and there was a large red bruise on the edge of his cheekbone that was growing darker by the minute.  Likewise was the other child on Elizabeth's right, who was equally as filthy.  She was a girl, slightly shorter and younger than the boy by only a year with shoulder length, wavy dark brown hair that had at one point been pulled back in a ponytail.  However, several clumps had been pulled loose and fell in disarray around her round, suntanned face.  She stopped her struggles at the sight of Jack and Emma looking down at her and her unnaturally dark blue eyes grew very large. 

" Captain Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth's voice rang out with suppressed rage as she caught site of Jack and Emma and strode across the room to meet them with the children reluctantly in tow. Jack was in the process of getting up off the ground and paused with a tiny wince as he heard his name being called.  He heard her stop a few feet away, then swiveled around to greet the enraged female pirate with a face of unmistakable good-natured curiosity.

" That would be me, love." Jack said languidly with a flick of his wrist.  " What can I do for ye?"

Elizabeth pursed her lips, her anger thrown off by his cool demeanor.  Then she took a deep breath and said with an impatient nod towards the girl in her right hand.  " Your daughter has been fighting again with my son!"

" Have not!" said the girl defiantly as Elizabeth released her; she looked up at Jack Sparrow with unmistakable innocence.  " Honestly da… I didn't!"

Jack raised an eyebrow at her. It was plain as night and day that she was lying through her teeth. At his look, the little girl pursed her lips and revised her story.  "Jamie pulled my hair first!"

" Did not…" Came the muffled reply from the boy. 

" Did too!"

" Enough!" Cried Elizabeth, and they both fell silent.  She redirected her gaze to Jack, fixing him with her best hard-eyed stare.  "Well?"

Jack gave the barest nod of his head towards the girl and Emma held out her hand.  The girl hesitated and glanced back at Elizabeth, who hadn't faltered her glowering gaze.  She walked across the room to take Emma's outstretched hand and Emma instantly bent down and began to fuss with her dress, smoothing the wrinkles and rubbing the dirt from her face with a handkerchief.

" Haven't I told you not to fight?" Emma said earnestly.  " You know better than that, Claire!"

Jack bent down to examine his daughter, there was a knowing smirk on his face as she turned to regard him a little nervously.  " What did I tell ye, poppet?" He asked.

" Not to hit unless he right deserves it." She replied.

" Tha's my girl… now, did he deserve it?"

" Yes, he pulled my hair!"

" Well, there ye have it!" Jack said standing up and turned to regard Elizabeth smoothly with a large grin on his face.  " It's yer son who should be apologizing to my daughter."

Elizabeth looked ready to explode. " WHO do you think YOU are to just DECLARE that your daughter was completely not at fault in this situation!!!??"

" Why, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, love! Did ye really have to ask?" Jack said charismatically.  " And, the way I see it… it's a matter of cause and effect." He swayed back and forth like a cobra, demanding everyone's full attention as he talked with exaggerated hand gestures.  " Ye see… If yer son had not pulled my daughters hair, causing her, in what could be construed as self-defense to use her ample right hook… which… If I may be so bold as to interject that I taught her to use quite well…" Jack said off-handedly to Emma, who was looking at him incredulously.  " Then… yer son would not have at this moment a rather manly looking bruise sporting his left cheek...." The boy's face broke into a grin as Jack shot him an encouraging look.  " …I would not be standing here in defense of her good judgment in such a situation, you would not be wasting yer breath away screaming at me, M'dear Emma would not be covered from head to toe in rum, both the kids would not be in need of a good bath…The barmaids in the back room would not have a lovely piece of gossip to spread through the entire port the minute we walk out that door…"

As Jack rattled on and on, one fact after another, the look on Elizabeth's face grew less angry and more confused, until she wasn't quite sure what point Jack was trying to make and had quite forgotten the origin of the argument.  During this tirade, Claire glanced over at James from behind her mother's skirts, their eyes met and she stuck her tongue at him as he simultaneously crossed his eyes at her.  They both broke into identical dirt-faced grins.

" …And so, I think I've made it quite clear to ye, love… that the stem of the argument is not with me, but with yer lad there… who needs to learn to keep his hands to himself.  It's either he learn it now, or the hard way in a few more years, savvy?"

Elizabeth continued to stare at him with her mouth hanging open.  Then, as silence descended upon the group, she seemed to come back to herself and blinked twice in quick succession.  With a click of her teeth, she snapped her mouth closed and nodded dumbly, then muttered under her breath, " I s-suppose…"  She glanced down at her son who was still busy making faces at Claire.  "Well, Jamie?"

He'd been caught in the middle of trying to imitate a chipmunk, and opened his mouth with a loud pop.  He looked affronted up at his mother, shocked at the indignation of having to apologize when just moment's ago he'd been sure that Claire was the one who was going to get it.  But at Elizabeth's towering look, he grudgingly took a step forward, put his hands behind his back, and muttered his apology.  " Sorry I pulled yer hair…" 

Claire dove out from behind Emma and was in front of him in a flash.  " S'okay…Hey, do ye wanna play?"

" Yeah!" Jamie's head shot up and then he quickly glanced to his mum for confirmation.  Elizabeth let out a great sigh and folded her arms, looking down at him crossly. 

" No more fighting?" She said ominously.

" I swear!" They both said in unison.

" Okay then, but back before nightfall."

Claire turned to Jack and Emma, Jack was down on his knee again, and he beckoned her over to him.  As she neared him, he put his hand on her shoulder and said under his breath.

" I'm not going to talk ye out of trouble again, poppet. So I suggest ye find some less violent way to settle your arguments with young James, or next time you'll be looking at a sound smack on the bum, savvy?"

She nodded in understanding, and they both broke into identical mischievous grins.  Then, Jack turned her around and set her off with a little push.

The three adults watched the kids run out of the door, no doubt to get into more mischief on the streets of Tortuga.  They were as wiley and cunning as those children that had lived on the streets their entire lives, and made the rough town their playground.  The main difference between them and the other street rats that infested the town was that both their fathers were well-respected and simultaneously feared pirates.  Therefore, it was a given that the kids went about the port completely unmolested.  Its residents did not wish to incite the wrath of Captain Jack Sparrow or Will Turner. 

  Jack Sparrow had made his fame even more wide spread after the astounding news that he'd come back from Hell Water heavily laden with its treasures. And in its aftermath, he had spent the past eight years building even more upon his already successful reputation as the most dauntless, disreputable, crazy and simultaneously brilliant scalawag to ever have sailed the seven seas.   He was a regular topic of conversation in the courts of England, France, and Spain. Will Turner was a newer name to the register, but it was a name that carried a good amount of weight, as it was usually used simultaneously with Jack's in recent years.  Will was well known, both among the buccaneers and the law-abiding classes, as Jack Sparrow's second-hand in crime.

" Care to have a drink with us, darling?" Jack asked Elizabeth, who continued to stare out of the door at the retreating figures of Jamie and Claire.  " It's a mighty hot day to be running around as ye have. Why not sit yerself down?"

" No… no thank you." She said haltingly, and then turned quickly to regard them both. The motion made the braids and trinkets in her hair jingle and sway about her lightly tanned face.  " Will should be coming back today, I wanted to greet him at the port when he arrived."

" Ah… good lass.  Well, I won't hold you up here then." Jack bent down and righted his chair, then planted himself back in it.  Emma watched him with a bemused expression on her face.

" Yes, I'll see you later then." Elizabeth said smoothly, and then turned on her heel and strode out of the room.

Jack let out a long breath as they watched the door close behind her and the room once again fell into silence.

" You amaze me." Emma said incredulously as she turned to face him with sparkling eyes.

" How's that, love?"

" You know perfectly well Claire was at fault in that situation."  
            " Aye, she takes after 'er old dad." Jack grinned.

" Too well!  You're teaching her how to be dishonest." Emma scolded.

Jack frowned contemplatively and then shrugged.  " …Yes… and yer point is?"

" It's dishonest!"

Jack raised one eyebrow at her and then cracked a smile.  " Just, who do ye think yer talking to here, love?"

Emma rolled her eyes and sighed audibly.  " Ohh—why do I even bother with you sometimes?"

Jack extended a hand and pulled Emma down onto his lap, then, with both arms wrapped around her waist, he set his chin on her shoulder.  He breathed the words into her ear like a silky caress. " I'll give ye three guesses why…"

            She was sufficiently distracted as he took an audible sniff and then ran the tip of his tongue up along the side of her face.  " You taste divine, love."

            " I taste like rum, you mean." She corrected, not bothering to hide the amusement in her voice.

            " I should dump it on you more often, then."

            " I should think that would be a waist of rum!" She interjected; fully conscious of his hands that were feeling they're way up the exterior of her bodice.

            " Who's said anything about wasting it?" His voice was undeniably mischievous and it made her laugh out loud.

            " Jack, when are we going to set sail again?" She asked him after a moments pause as he started playing with her front laces.  " We've been in Tortuga for nearly three weeks!"

            " Restless for the feel of the sea under yer feet, are ye?"

She nodded and Jack paused, he stilled his searching hands around her waist.  "Just as soon as Will gets back with my business ventures in hand."  He replied.  " We can be off."

" I'll be relieved when that happens.  Jamie and Claire seem to be getting into more trouble with each passing day…" Emma confided in him wearily.  "It will be good for them to be back on the ship."

Jack didn't answer her, but nodded behind her back to himself.  Emma leaned against him, thinking of the trials of the recent weeks.  It was true that Jamie and Claire had gotten themselves in several tight spots, all of which Jack had skillfully managed to bail them out of with his unfailing charisma.  He was quite an unconventional father figure, and not what any law-abiding citizen would consider a good-example for a roll model on an impressionable child of both Claire and Jamie's age.  He taught them through experience the skills needed to survive among the hardened buccaneers.  This of course, included lying, cheating, stealing, and all manner of other tell-tale misdealings that were a staple of survival to the world of the pirate.  Jack was still firm in certain areas of discipline with his daughter. He instilled in her his own standards of high self-respect and loyalty to parents, trusted friends, and crewmembers.  There was nothing he detested more than mutiny, betrayal, or disloyalty.  And he considered all other character flaws (such as a tendency to hit when provoked) of little consequence in light of those much graver crimes, all of which he had suffered from at one or more points in his life.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth and Will were both of quite a different frame of mind.  And because from the moment they were born, the two children had proven to be nearly inseparable, the two couples had been forced to come up with a compromise to their different ideas of parenting, so that all could live in harmony cooped up for long voyages on _The Black Pearl_.   This compromise being, that Elizabeth taught the children to read and write, for she was determined that they would not grow up in ignorance… while Jack taught them the skills mentioned above for their own survival.  Emma and Will were happy to oblige the compromise, and tried to mediate as much as possible, especially when Elizabeth clashed with Jack…

Jack Sparrow of course, won every argument simply by being Jack Sparrow.

Emma's thoughts came back to the present quickly when she found herself being swept up in Jack's arms as he stood from his seat and carried her across the threshold to the stairs and the gallery of rooms above.

" Hey! What are you up to now?" She squirmed in his grip and shot him an indignant look.

" Well love, I thought I'd have me way with you while you seemed so keen on staring off into space."

She gave him a derisive laugh.  " Someday, I would love to see you not get your way for once."

" Ahh?" Jack shot her a sly grin.  " But then that would constitute a lose/lose situation, wouldn't it? What's the point in that?"

Emma blinked at him, then caught his meaning and aimed a playful slap, which he deflected easily with his shoulder.  " You scoundrel! That's not what I meant!"

Jack's eyes twinkled with mischief as he rounded the last step and strode confidently into the closest room on the gallery landing, pulling the door closed behind him with a flick of his toe.

~*~*~*~*~

            " My da is coming back today!" Jamie declared excitedly as he and Claire dashed off towards their favorite haunt, which happened to be directly underneath the docks.  Several suntanned faces turned to regard the children as they sidled past the workers who were busy loading and unloading ships. One large galleon had just anchored, and people were filing out of it.  The heavy thumping of boots above their heads were loud and resounding on the creaking wooden planks.  

 " He said he'd bring me back something from Port Royal." He added loudly, so as to be heard above the din.

            Claire bent down and picked up a short sturdy stick and began waving it around like a sword.  " I wonder when we're going to be old enough to start learning swords." She changed the subject, not caring for the reminder that Jamie had a present coming to him and she did not.

            " Mum says not until I'm ten." Jamie said indignantly, fetching his own stick and slinging it through his belt.

            " Ready yerself ye scurvy scalawag!" cried Claire as she charged him, waving her stick in the air.  Jamie stepped back as she made an exaggerated swing at him, then brandished his weapon and slapped her stick smartly away.

" You'll never take me alive!" Jamie cried shrilly, instantly falling into the play-acting.

" That's what you think, Norrington!"

Jamie stopped his advance with an indignant cry. "Why do I always have to be the bad guy? I wanna be Jack Sparrow for once!"

" Cause Jack Sparrow's my da, savvy?"

" That's not fair!"

" It's not? I could beat you with one hand behind my back!"

Jamie had tossed his stick into the water and was about to spring on her with a vengeance when suddenly, between the two of them something shiny and white fell threw the cracks on the dock above them and landed with a gentle thud on the sand.  They both instantly forgot their argument and fell upon it.

" What is it?" Claire craned her neck to see as Jamie had gotten to it first and was gazing at it like a precious piece of lost treasure.  It was a round flat disc, about 3 inches in diameter and shone with a white, metallic brilliance as he turned it around in his small hands.  Occasionally, it would catch a ray of the sunlight streaming through from the docks above and shimmer with dancing colors of yellow and pink across the smooth surface. 

" It's treasure!" Declared Jamie triumphantly.  " Look, there's some marks on it."

" Let me see!"

" No, I found it." The boy held it protectively against his chest.  " It's mine."

" I saw it before you did." Claire protested.  " I'll give it back, just let me see it."

Reluctantly, Jamie held out his hands with the offered object, and Claire took it from him, eyeing the strange disc with interest.

" Do you see the marks on the edge?" Jamie said.  " I bet it's special! I can't wait to show mum!"

Her unnaturally dark eyes scanned along the ridge of the disc and she furrowed her brows.  " They're not marks, they're words."

" Words? Really?" He looked at the object with even more interest.  " What does it say?"

" I don't know. I can't read them." Claire replied. Her lips were set in a contemplative frown, and then she reluctantly handed the treasure back to James, who took it and pocketed it with great care.

Suddenly, a gruff voice came close up from behind them.  " What are you kids doing down here?"

They both spun on their heels to regard the strange figure with surprise.  He was not a face they recognized.  In their minds, that fact made him immediately suspicious, and thus to be avoided.  Jamie and Claire backed up a few hurried steps and regarded him from what they deemed to be a safe distance.

The man scanned the disturbed sand from where they'd been moments before, as if looking for something.  And then, with obvious disappointment on his long, gaunt face turned his gaze back up to them and beckoned with a thin, bony hand.

" No need to fear now… I won't hurt ye… but did ye happen ter see something fall through the roof just minutes ago? It's white, and round?"

Jamie glanced at Claire with a readable expression of nervousness. But the girl just shook her head with a very innocent expression.

" No, we 'aven't seen nothing like that, sir." She lied very convincingly.

The man paused as he glanced from one face to the other.  He was quite tall, and very gaunt, with a face that at one point could have been considered quite handsome.  It was hard to tell, but he looked as though he might be in his late forties.  The rags that he wore hung off of his skeletal frame like clothes off a hanger. They were dirty and tattered, and roughly patched in several places.  His long, dark brown hair was streaked with silver.  It hung loose about his face in greasy waves.  His skin was finely baked from long exposure to the sun, and his feet were encased in tattered boots with fraying laces. He looked like a beggar, but he carried himself in a very different fashion.  He stood straight and tall but swayed slightly as if he was still accustomed to being on a boat. His eyes were an intense brown as he took turns glancing from one dirty face to another.  But his eyes kept on straying back to the boy and he pursed his lips.  Then, he finally shrugged and dug into the patched pocket of his coat and flipped out a shilling.  He tossed it to them. Jamie still hand his hands firmly in his pockets, thus, Claire caught the coin and examined it scrupulously.

" I'll be having it back now." He said to Jamie with an ominous tone of voice that sounded a great deal to him like his father's when he was about to be very cross. Jamie reluctantly took the white disc they'd just found out of his pocket and held it out to the man, who closed the distance between the two of them with surprising speed for his thin frame, and snatched it out of his hands.  It disappeared into one of the folds of his coat in a matter of seconds. The man straightened again and looked down at the two urchins with the full advantage of his height.  And then a well-lined grin swept across his face, displaying a few golden teeth.  " There now! I thank ye… mister?"

" …Jamie." The boy said after a short pause. " …Turner…"

The man faltered for a moment on the name.  His mouth tightened, but he forced his smile to stay on, and then nodded his head to the girl.

" Smith…" She said shortly, and then gave him a gape-toothed smile.

" Well then… Jamie Turner… and, Ms. Smith?" He said audibly, then dug into his pocket and flipped out another shilling, this time Jamie caught it and pocketed it after a short glance to see if it was authentic. " I have a question I'd like to ask ye. I'm rather new to this place; I haven't been here in some time. That ship over there, d'ye see? With the Black Sails?"

They both swiveled their heads to look at The Black Pearl, which was the only ship anchored in the cove to sport Black Sails.

"—Who captains her nowadays?" He asked lightly.

" Claire's da!" cried Jamie, then quickly put both hands over his mouth as Claire stepped on his foot.

" Claire's da?" The man repeated softly to himself.  " And, who would he be?"

Claire regarded him for a moment, and then a wide smile crept across her face as he returned her look inquisitively. After a few moments, she answered him, " Why, everyone knows that the Captain of _The Black Pearl_ is Jack Sparrow!"

" Is he now?!" The man said in an excited tone of voice, and then leaned forward to regard the two faces closely.   " Where might I find this, Captain Jack Sparrow?"

" He's at the Faithful Bride." Replied Claire.  Jamie was watching her with an open-mouthed expression.

The man nodded in confirmation of her statement, then crossed each grubby hand with yet another shilling from his pocket.  "Will ye two be my guides to this here… Faithful Bride?"

The children were more than happy to oblige their unexpected patron. They set off at a brisk pace with the man on their heels, back towards the tavern they'd come from not more than a half-hour ago.

~*~*~*

The two barmaids had commenced with their cleaning of the tables and getting ready for the nights activities when the weathered man and the two children walked into the tavern.

Claire took a look around the tavern and spotted her mother coming out of a bedroom on the upstairs landing, she was arranging her hair and smoothing out her skirts as she closed the door behind her.  Claire left Jamie with the stranger and headed up the stairs to Emma, who regarded her warmly.

" Mama, there's a man 'ere who's been asking question's about da!" She said in one swift breath as she rounded the banister in excitement.

Emma glanced at the stranger through the corner of her eye, and then smiled down at her daughter.  " I'll get Jack, why don't you have him sit down for a drink while he waits?"

Claire nodded, then turned and flew back down the stairs with surprising energy.  Leaving Emma to return to the room she'd just left. She poked her head in the door to see Jack as he was just buckling on his Baldric.

" Claire was just at the door." She said.  Jack turned to regard her with amusement. 

" Aye?"

" She says there's a man downstairs, who was asking questions about you." 

Jack raised an eyebrow at this, then shrugged on his coat and doffed his hat.  " Does she know who it is?" 

" She didn't say." Emma replied as Jack took his pistol from the bedside, checked to make sure it was loaded, and then shoved the barrel of the flintlock in his belt.

She followed him out of the door. Jack sauntered down the steps towards the taproom with arms swinging in their usual manner, but then he froze at the foot of the stairs, causing Emma to almost run straight into his back, as the man sitting at his favorite table in the corner looked up from his tankard.

Brown eyes met brown, coal-lined eyes, and Jack's jaw dropped.

" Nice ter see ye again, Jack Sparrow." The man said as he raised his cup and took a long swig.

Jack took a step forward, then stopped again and stared wide-eyed.  Emma glanced up at his face. His expression was frozen and incredulous, she noticed his hands, which usually were always moving, for once were completely still and tightly clenched into white-knuckled fists at his sides.

Emma glanced over at the kids, who were watching him with identical looks of amazement.  _Nothing_ shocked Jack Sparrow, but he was looking at this man as if he was looking at a ghost.  She quickly ushered them outside, sensing a need for privacy, and then whirled around and watched the awkward exchange that was taking place from the doorway.

" What's this?" The grizzly man cocked his head to the side and smiled at Jack.  " Have ye lost yer way with words, Captain? Ye haven't gone mute since I last saw ye, have you?"

Jack was quick to regain his composure. Nothing could shock him for too long, that was a given.  His look of confusion was replaced quickly with one of curiosity as he sauntered slightly stiff-legged over to the table to greet the man looking up at him.

" It's nice to see you haven't lost yer way with words either…" Jack said lightly, stopping a few feet away.  He leaned back on his heels to regard the newcomer down the bridge of his nose.  His eyes were alight with a glimmer of excitement that Emma had not seen for quite some time.    " Though I must admit…" Jack continued, "…Yer looks have taken a rather sorry nose-dive since I last saw ye… William Turner." 

The name played across her mind and she stiffened, directing a disbelieving gaze to the disheveled man seated at Jack's favorite table.

" _Turner_?" She thought.  " _It can't be!"_

" Or…" Jack raised one hand in thought, then squinted down at him and cracked a roguish grin.  " …Would you prefer that I call ye Bootstrap?"


	2. Tall Tales

The Seal of Cleito 

_(A/N- Wow! I had no idea that the first chapter was going to come off so well. I'm very pleased you all seem to like it!  So far it's been somewhat of a challenge, because I'm really trying to make it better than the Secret of Hell Water… but we'll see!_

_I'd like to point out a little historical note that might come up after you read this chapter… Nassau was a real port that was said to be the "pirate's paradise." The difference with it and Tortuga is that Tortuga was a French colony with a governor that only sanctioned pirate ships that plundered Spanish vessels.  Nassau didn't have any restrictions that I could find in my research.  Anyways- that's a little bit of history for ye!_

_And a  quick review response before we start:_

_WeBeTa- You asked if Jamie and Claire come from Diana Gabaldon's books? LOL- I was actually going to mention that in this chapter's notes anyways.  The answer to that is yes and no, the NAMES are inspired from them. I'm a HUGE Gabaldon fan.  Of course, the children are NOT Jamie or Claire Fraser, nor will they be written to resemble their personalities at all… I simply am using the names because I like them, and I'm a nut and I couldn't help myself._

Chapter 2- Tall Tales 

" Or…" Jack raised one hand in thought, then squinted down at him and cracked a roguish grin.  " …Would you prefer that I call ye Bootstrap?"

Bootstrap Bill Turner paused, taking another long swig of rum before replying with a sense of fond remembrance.  " Bootstrap… I haven't had anyone call me that for nearly twenty years… Aye… that'll do."

Jack took a seat across from him then set both hands on the tabletop, leaning over with a look of interest on his face.  Emma pursed her lips, wondering if she should leave the two to catch up. She remembered well the stories that Jack had told her about Will's unfortunate father. Everyone had believed that he'd met his fate at the bottom of the ocean nearly twenty years ago, after he'd incurred the wrath of Barbossa.  How could it be that he was sitting at that table in the Faithful Bride, a living, breathing human being?  Why had he been waiting nearly ten years to make his presence known to Jack? Where had he been all this time? The curse had long been broken.

Questions like these and others swam about in her mind until she felt she might burst with anticipation and curiosity. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to know his story and was relieved when she noticed Jack motioning for her to join them. Bootstrap Bill had turned his shaggy head to regard her with interest.

            Emma tried not to show her agitation as she walked over to them and took a third seat beside Jack.  She folded her hands in her lap, doing her best to look poised.  However, in truth her stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. The barmaid came over to the table with two more tankards of rum for her and Jack, and a refill for Bootstrap.  She eagerly took a long first sip, willing the rum to calm her frazzled nerves.

            " This is Emma, mate." Jack said casually with a sideways glance.  Emma swallowed her large gulp and nodded her head in greeting to him. Bootstrap gave her a very obvious look of appraisal.  It was the kind that she would often get from Jack when he was thinking dirty thoughts. She knew it too well.  She straightened her back in her seat and cocked an insulted eyebrow at him.

            Bootstrap broke into a sly grin and looked back at Jack. " Well, of all things to change, I wasn't expecting this Jack!  You've found yerself a right beauty ye have!"

At this, Emma's look softened.  "_Well… for being a bit forward, he is rather charming in his own way._ " She thought.

Jack didn't look at her, but returned his friends smile with his own roguish grin, " Oh, well… If you'd been in my situation, you would understand, mate!  I thought I'd give just one woman a go for a change.  And it turned into a rather unexpected blessing." 

By the look on his face, Emma knew Jack was thinking of Claire.

Bootstrap seemed to sense the direction Jack's thoughts were straying as well.  " And don't tell me, the wee little poppet that told me her name was Smith is yours?  I could see the resemblance as clear as day."

            Jack leaned back with a satisfied grin.  " Aye! That she is. So… she's Smith today, is she?" 

            " She'll be a sight when she grows up a bit." Bootstrap said with confidence. " Fit to break many a bloke's 'eart, I tell ye! And a sharp mind to boot!"

            " I'll drink to that, mate." Jack said as he lifted his tankard and took a large swig. They all drank.  But as Bootstrap put his tankard down on the table, his face was somber once again.

            There was a long pause as Jack watched him lick his lips nervously.  He glanced up, started to say something and then paused, struggling to find the right words.  After a moment, he finally seemed to have come to a conclusion in his mind, and took turns regarding first Jack's face, and then Emma's. His eyes had a haunted, glassy look to them, " There was a boy with 'er… he said his name was Jamie Turner?"

            Emma stiffened at this admonition and glanced at Jack, who had an unreadable expression on his countenance.  Silence filled the room for the space of a few heartbeats, then Jack finally opened his mouth to speak, " There's more than just one Turner to be found on board my ship, nowadays, mate."  But before he could elaborate, he was interrupted at the sound of the wooden door opening.  They all turned their heads to see Will stride into the room with Elizabeth on his arm.  

            " Speak of the devil…" said Jack softly enough so that only Emma and Bootstrap could hear him.  Bootstrap's head whirled back around to look at Jack in alarm and Jack gave him a little nod of confirmation to his unspoken question.  His friend's mouth fell open and he turned again to gaze at the full-grown figure of his son strolling up towards them. 

            " Jack! Elizabeth told me I'd probably find you here."  He broke free of Elizabeth when they got within a few feet and pulled up a stool from a nearby corner, sitting at the head of the table.  His appearance had changed a good deal since Hell Water.  He had exchanged the awkward, lankiness of youth for the ruggedness of full adulthood.  He now sported the well-toned muscles of an experienced sailor and sword master. There were a few scars marking his tanned physique that could be seen peeking out from behind an off-white cotton shirt that was partially open in the front.  His coat and vest were of a fine medium gray material that was a bit travel stained but in good condition otherwise, and a black leather baldric slung over each shoulder.  One carried his usual sword and the other a cutlass.  He had a flintlock pistol tucked securely in a worn black leather belt that fit snugly about his waist.  His dark brown eyes sparkled as he walked up to them.  He stopped what he was saying at his first sight of the newcomer and frowned.  The intense stare the disheveled man was directing at him made him feel uncomfortable, he decided to look to Jack for introductions.

            Jack cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat to regard Will with amusement.  " It's nice to see ye back, mate.  So, what have ye to report?"

            Elizabeth sat down beside Bootstrap in the last remaining seat.  Will kept his mouth shut, he could feel the man's eyes scrutinizing and studying every line and freckle that was on his face.  

            " Don't worry about him, man…" Jack waved at Bootstrap dismissively.  " Just an ol' bloke who's been down on his luck. I thought I'd invite him to share a drink o' rum with us."

            Bootstrap cleared his throat with an audible "Ah-hem…. Nice to meet ye, mate. " And then extended his thin, bony hand to Will.  Will purses his lips as he regarded the stranger, there was something familiar about him, but he couldn't quite place it.  He hesitated, but finally took the strangers hand and gave it a firm shake.

            " I hope this doesn't seem too bold to ask… but you look familiar. Have we met before?" Will inquired.  He squinted his eyes slightly, as if trying to dredge up some memory in the back of his mind that might put a light on the encounter.

            At his question, the stranger snatched his hand back from Will as if burned.  He frowned very hard and continued to regard the young man's face with wide, alert eyes.  Emma noticed Jack was watching this exchange with interest.

            " _He's letting Bootstrap decide if he wants to tell Will he's his father or not." _She thought.__

There was another short pause.  The ragged man cleared his throat again and wrenched his gaze away from Will, directing it down instead at his tankard of rum.  " Nope, I don't think we have, mate.  Not recently, at least…  " He answered him in a gruff voice.

            " What's your name?" Will asked.  He had noticed the man's hesitation to answer his question.

            " Henry." The man said quickly.  " At yer service, mate."

            Emma saw the side of Jack's mouth twitch slightly. She guessed that he probably knew the significance of Bootstrap's alias, and decided that she would have to ask him about it later when they were alone.

            Will gave a short nod of his head, resigned to the answers that had been given him.  He still was fairly certain he'd seen him before.  But he decided that he would worry about it later, and introduced himself instead.  " Will Turner, and this is Elizabeth, my wife." He nodded his head to Elizabeth.  

Elizabeth had picked up on the stranger's intense interest in Will from the moment she walked into the room and had been eyeing him in turn. But when his eyes finally swiveled over to gaze at her, she quickly realized that she'd been staring and tore them away.  She looked down at her hands that were neatly folded in her lap, and inclined her head.

" Nice to meet you." She said, feeling embarrassed at her lack of manners.

 'Henry' appraised her discreetly.  It was quite a difference from how he'd ogled Emma just moments before.  He gave Elizabeth a dashing smile.  " Likewise, madam.  It's always a pleasure ter find oneself in the company of a lady."

Emma bristled at this. _A_ lady? What was she then?  A horse?

Elizabeth looked flattered and privately altered her poor first impression of him.  For looking like such a vagabond, the man had a gentlemanly way about him. " Thank you." She said.

There was a long, uncomfortable pause where no one spoke.  Then Emma finally broke the silence, remembering the reason for Will's recent absence.

            " Weren't you going to tell us about your trip?  What news do you have?" She asked.

            Will nodded and then shot another covert glance in the stranger's direction. But Jack seemed to be comfortable enough with him sitting at the table, and so he gave a little shrug and made his report.

            " The Port of Nassau has been reestablished."

            Jack threw his head back and his eyes alighted with interest.  A small smile crept across his face at the news. 

            " Are you positive?" Asked Elizabeth in awe.  " But, wasn't it overrun just last year?" 

            " The Spanish have been driven out.  It's lawless again." Will clarified for her.

            " That's quite fortunate!" She exclaimed.

            Emma could tell that she was echoing Jack's thoughts.  She could almost see the wheels turning in his head.  Nassau was on New Providence Island in the Bahamas.  Like Tortuga, it was a notorious haven to the buccaneers and pirates that preyed on the merchant ships that sailed along the trade routes from Central and South America.  It would be an ideal new base of operations, particularly because that area of the Bahamas is out of reach from the Commodore's pirate hunters.  They did not sail that far north, and preyed mainly on ships that made berth out of Tortuga.  _The Black Pearl_ had had quite a few close encounters with them in recent months.  They were a constant detriment to Jack Sparrow's line of work.  It was becoming apparent that the Commodore was getting desperate to capture Jack and although Emma had every confidence in Jack's exceptional ability to wage war upon the sea, their last brush with the pirate hunters had left the swarthy Captain with a nearly sinking ship and his newest scar that decorated his right cheek. Their days would be numbered if they continued sailing the waters near Jamaica.   Yes… Nassau would be an ideal haven.

            " Go inform Gibbs and the rest of the crew, that we set sail the day after tomorrow for New Providence." Jack said with a twinkle in his eye. " And ye might also want to mention, that we'll not be returning to Tortuga again in the foreseeable future.  Collect the names of those willing to go, and report back to me on the ship tonight."

            Will's face was also alight with anticipation and he nodded his head enthusiastically as he stood.  " Aye Captain!"

            " Oh- and Will…" Jack interjected as he turned to leave. Will stopped and glanced at him inquisitively. " If ye happen to run across the little treasure-snipes*, could ye send them our way?"

            " I'll go with you." Said Elizabeth as she rose from her seat as well.  " I have a few ideas where they might be found." 

Emma lowered her head and let her hair obscure a little smile.  She could tell Elizabeth had missed Will a great deal in the past three weeks.  The woman who was usually as tough as nails had one very large soft spot… that for the tall, dashingly handsome pirate Will Turner.  Elizabeth would not want him out of her site for more than a second for at least a week.  She watched them exit The Faithful Bride, then turned her attention back to Jack and Bootstrap, the later of the two was staring longingly at the door that they'd just exited through. 

" Imagine that…" He muttered to himself.  " Married to such a fine lady, all grown up… and taken after his ol' dad? I wouldn'a believed it if I hadn't seen it with me own two eyes…"

" Why didn't you tell him who you were?" Emma asked him curiously.  " He would have been so surprised!"

He shot her a frightened look, and then glanced at Jack.  Jack surveyed him with the usual sly smile on his lips, as if to say, " …_ I can guess well enough."_

Bootstrap licked his lips, then turned back to her and said, " Aye- that's exactly why I didn't say anything… it would have been a right shock to him."

" But he has a right to know!" She cried.  " You're his father!"

" His father that's come back from the dead?" He said with a tone that made Emma swallow the next protest that was on her lips.  He gave a weary chuckle and shook his head.  " Naw—I shouldn't even have a right to call meself his father… In truth I was never a father to him.  I walked right out on him and his mother as sure as I'm sittin' here now." He let out a long, regretful sigh.  " I jest couldn't deny the call o' the sea."

Emma frowned as he shook his head and then glanced at the door Will and Elizabeth had exited from again.  " For his sake, Bootstrap is better off dead to him.  Jest let ol' Henry watch from afar. That is good enough for me."  Then an idea seemed to hit him and he looked at Jack inquiringly. " Say, how is it that he came to be acquainted with you of all people anyways, Jack? And turned pirate no less?" 

            Jack winced, spared a glance at Emma, who had clamped her mouth shut almost immediately, then turned back to his old friend and brought one hand up with a finger sticking straight in the air.  He started to talk with a tone of pleasurable conversation, as if he was relating a story detailing one of his miraculous adventures.

            " Well, the deal with that is mate… I met him in Port Royal after I'd just escaped some redcoats who were under the strange impression that I was a corsair.  Of course, I recognized him the moment I saw him! I said to myself, 'Jack… that there is the son of Bootstrap Bill Turner!' No doubts about it mate!  He is just a spitting image of you, after all, eh?  So I decided to take him under my wing to honor your fond memory. I taught him a thing or too about swords and the like… for his survival and all that, savvy?  But then _The Black Pearl_ attacked, and he was kidnapped by Barbossa, who needed his blood to lift the curse…"

Bootstrap looked horror stricken, but Jack was quick to cut him off before he could say anything.  He continued his grossly revised story without pause, gesticulating wildly and swaying about in his seat enough to make one dizzy.  " Naturally, I rushed to his rescue!  Together, we overthrew the mutinous ne'er-do-well cad, and reclaimed _The_ _Black Pearl_. He and Elizabeth joined my crew not long after, about the same time that I met M'dear Emma here, as a matter of fact."

            Emma sat watching Jack with an incredulous eyebrow in the air and her mouth hanging slightly open. Bootstrap seemed to have recovered from his initial shock, and had a look on his face that was just as doubtful.  He folded his hands on the table and shot Jack a level look.  

" Come now Jack…" Bootstrap drawled out his name, " I know ye better than that… Ye wouldn't so much as bat an eyelash at the boy unless ye thought you could get something worthwhile out of him. And I find it hard to believe you'd risk yer neck for the lad for nothing more than my fond memory! And that bit about taking him under yer wing? Don't make me laugh! "

            Jack had the grace to look slightly crestfallen. Finally, he gave a dramatic sigh and said very quickly, so that all his words ran together to be almost impossible to understand. " Fine, I confess... It-was-my-intention-to-trade-dear-William-in-exchange-for-my-ship-to-Barbossa, who-needed-him-to-lift-the-curse… savvy? But the boy must be thick in the head, because he decided to run off and become a pirate himself after the whole ordeal was over.  Of course, he's a handy one to have around, I do admit… I've grown quite fond of him, actually."

            Bootstrap shook his head and let out a sardonic chuckle.  " Aye… that sounds like ye allrigh'.   I know I should be furious… but it does sorta remind me of when I ran off to join you and your ship.  Faith! I see now why he likes ye…" Then he paused and took a long sip of rum.  He sat for a moment in silence, savoring the flavor of the fine beverage as Jack and Emma watched him in curiosity.  Finally, he grinned and said,  " I never thought I'd taste the stuff on me lips, ever again… how can I be mad at ye now with that?  I'm glad that he came to follow in his old dad's footsteps, even if his mother is probably rolling in her grave right know with the knowledge of it."

            People were starting to enter the tavern as the afternoon grew darker and the long days work was finally at an end.  The effect of the alcohol was beginning to take effect on Bootstrap, and his tongue began to grow looser and looser with each cherished swig.  He began to gesticulate with his hands as he talked, swaying back and forth slightly in a delightfully intoxicated haze.

            " Yer probably wondering where I've been all this time? Why… the curse was lifted long ago, wasn't it?" He chuckled and answered his own question with barely a pause.  " Bad luck, mate! After I managed to wrench myself loose from that canon, I sat on the bottom of that ocean and thought to meself… what can I possibly do? I thought of trying to find ye mate. I searched for the island, and finally found it… only to discover that ye weren't there. I'm afraid I feared the worst." His face fell as he remembered his chagrin at believing his friend and companion dead.  " I thought that maybe I should look for me son? But then, he was all the way in England as far as I knew, and I didn't want to trouble him or his mother.  Then, I thought of revenge on that mutinous traitor Barbossa!" He said the name scathingly, took a long swig, and then slammed his mug down on the table, making Emma jump.  " But what good would I have done against that entire crew of miscreants, eh? I was only one." He seemed to settle after saying this, and paused with pursed lips. His eyes rose up to regard Emma with a hint of distrust, then he shifted his gaze to Jack. " I spent a good portion of me cursed years under the ocean mate.  Ye wouldn't believe the amount of swag I found in its depths! Oh!" He threw his hands up in the air with the exclamation.  " I would have cared far more if I hadn't been so parched for good drink and food."

            " What happened after that?" Emma asked, unable to hide her immense interest in his story.  She knew well enough of the gold hidden in many shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea.  She believed him whole-heartedly on that account.

            " Well…I—" And then he shot her another covert look of distrust that made Jack's eyes narrow slightly. But the Pirate Captain did not show a hint of what he was thinking on his face.  Bootstrap continued his story, glazing over his cursed years with the vague excuse of it all running together. " I was lucky enough to be on dry land when the curse was lifted, I had a small treasure cache I was storing up, thinking that maybe I'd find a way to leave it to me son…But then suddenly I could taste the salt of the sea in my mouth, and under the light of the full moon, my own reflection in the water looked back at me as clear as ye see me now.  There I was, alive again, only to find myself stranded on an island in the middle of the Caribbean with naught for survival… not even a pistol! Despair overwhelmed me in that moment.  I knew I would surely starve to death in no time."

            A great wave of sympathy overcame Emma as she listed to his story.  Desperate of thirst and hunger, he'd lived off of several varieties of shellfish that were to be found amongst the reefs surrounding his small island. However, they did not always agree with his stomach, and he would suddenly find himself violently sick and unable to keep down anything that he tried to eat. But as luck would have it, almost a week into his forced solitude, there had been a great storm, and the next morning brought a ship on the horizon.  It had a gash in its hull from the storm and was on its way to his island in need of a spot to make repairs.  Filled with desperation and a blind trust in his saviors, he revealed himself almost immediately.  But the ship was not quite what he was expecting.  They were slavers, and before he knew it, he found himself chained in the hold amongst the crowded bodies of the many unfortunate men and woman who were being sold off to the plantations as punishment for crimes said or done. 

            " I spent the next six years of my life working the fields in Barbados." He said softly.  "I had no knowledge of the world outside the plantation.  But…" And then he broke into a grin and glanced up at Jack with sparkling eyes.  " Two years ago, pirates ransacked the town.  _The Black Pearl_ came in the night, burning and pillaging!  It was a sight for sore eyes… that ship." He leaned back in his chair, enthusiastically reliving that moment in his mind.  " I took the opportunity to make a run for it in the confusion!  I believed the entire time that it was Barbossa leading the raid… But no—it was you on that ship! Captain Jack Sparrow was the word that was on every mouth. I couldn't believe my ears!"

            He had been knocked unconscious during the chaos and woke up in a ditch the next morning to find the Black Pearl gone.  But he was not about to give up his hope of rejoining Jack on his ship.  He risked stowing away on a ship that was bound to Martinico, and from there worked his way slowly to Tortuga where he knew he would find Jack Sparrow or at least news of his whereabouts.

            " I had to find ye, Jack." He said sorrowfully. " I thought ye dead for so long… For me it was like, the instant I heard ye were the pirate ransacking the port, I had my old life hovering before my eyes again and knew I had to take the chance to get it back. And the rest… ye can pretty much guess." He brought his arms up in a grand gesture and let them fall. 

            There was a long pause, and then Jack finally said with a look of keen interest on his face.  " Well… that does explain a lot, mate. I admit, I believed ye dead too. Or had little hope of ever finding ye again. I am glad to see yer back and alive… and as well as could be, under the circumstances." He gestured vaguely to Bootstraps tattered clothing with a slight grimace.  

Bootstrap blinked back confused and looked down at his garments, then gave a wry chuckle.  " Aye… they do seem to be in a poor state, don't they?  It's been so long, I hardly notice anymore."

            Emma had detected several large holes in his story, she could tell, as much as he was trying to hide it, that he'd been distracted by her presence and wasn't telling Jack all that he wished to tell.  She felt a bit ashamed for being there.  She was probably in the way of their reunion.  Luckily, in that moment she spotted Claire and Jamie enter the tavern and quickly stood up with the excuse that the children were probably hungry, and that she would see to their meals and baths. 

            " I'll find ye on The Pearl, Love." Jack said with a wink.  Emma gave him a genuine smile, then made a tiny curtsy to Bootstrap, who returned her look with a broad grin.

            " It was mighty nice meeting ye, Miss Emma." He said.

~*~*~*~

As soon as she'd disappeared out of the door with the children in tow, Jack threw his head back and glanced at Bootstrap with a familiar, sly twist of mischief in his smile.

" So, mate…" Jack said after a short pause.  "Do ye want to tell me what ye really did all those years? How much of that story was actually true?"

" The later half." Bootstrap said, his face breaking into a gleaming smile.  " The part about the slavery was true.  It was a nightmare…that part was!"

" So?" Jack urged him with a raised eyebrow.

" Ahh—well… It had to do ye see… with luck, as ye might call it."

" Aye?"

" Barbossa choose a right opportune spot to send me te Davey Jones…" Bootstrap grinned at him.  " I sunk down deeper and deeper, the world became as black as pitch.  But then, amazingly, there was a very fair and faint light in the far distance as I hit the bottom. Ye won't believe what I found mate… what it could mean for the both of us!"

And then he dug into his pocket; presumably looking for the smooth white disc he'd recovered from the children earlier that day.  But his face fell as he rifled about, then he stood up abruptly and started checking all the various folds and pockets and every nook and cranny of his clothes. He shook out his shirt and took off his tattered, patched coat.  And then with an oath threw it down at finding it empty of both the disc, and the remaining money he'd had in his pocket. He turned on Jack in a fury and pounded his fist on the table. 

The gaunt looking man took a deep breath, and then said in a dangerously calm voice, " Where did ye say yer child was, now? Jack?"

Jack winced visibly and gave his friend an apologetic shrug. Yes, he'd taught his daughter well… too well.

* Treasure-snipes:   Piratical term for Children


	3. Myths and Legends

The Seal of Cleito 

(A/N- update 3-21-03- 

Okay- something REALLY bothered me about this chapter. I was not happy with it at all and I couldn't figure out why. I didn't know if it was just me though, so I put it online anyways.   But then LuckySparrow's review TOTALLY pinned it for me… Emma's being really dishonest with Jack- that spells DISASTER for a relationship and that was what I hated about it.  That's what was wrong! (THANK YOU LuckySparrow! YOU ROCK!!)  But for the sake of my plotline, she can't spill the beans just yet. Anyways, I rewrote the end of the chapter and feel a lot better about it now. It's quite different, so please if you've read it already, I would recommend rereading the last part again. Okay- I'll shut up now- Ughh… still sick…)

Chapter 3- Myths and Legends 

Jack winced visibly and gave his friend an apologetic shrug. Yes, he'd taught his daughter well… too well.

" Well?" Bootstrap waited for him to answer impatiently.  Jack brought both hands up in an attempt to calm his friend.

" Steady there mate… ye'll get it back, whatever it is the little treasure-snipe stole from ye, that is."

Bootstrap grunted impatiently as Jack dug into his coat pocket and fished out four shillings to pay for the rum.  He tossed them on the wooden table, and then stood up abruptly.  Bootstrap followed suit and they both headed purposefully towards the door.  

" She's back on The Pearl, most likely." Jack said conversationally.

Just as they reached the door, Jack stopped abruptly and pivoted on the ball of his foot, making Bootstrap stagger backwards as to not run straight into the Captain.  Jack swayed slightly and regarded him with a glint of danger in his dark eyes.  " Oh yeah, mate… before I forget…" He straightened and smoothed out one corner of his moustache between his thumb and forefinger. " I could see ye eyeing me woman in a most indecent manner back there… more than once, I might add..."

Bootstrap regarded him dubiously.  " Whatever it is Jack, just say it!"

Jack Sparrow pursed his lips, squinted one eye at his genuinely confused friend, and said, " No one plunders her booty but me, savvy?"

Bootstrap stiffened and clutched both hands together in earnest.  " Jack! I wasna' thinking it! I swear it to ye!"

Jack's serious face broke and he flashed a metallic smile.  " Ye'll need to brush up a bit on the lies mate… Yer a tad rusty.  And just so ye know… Emma's one to be trusted. Whatever trinket it is the little sea rat's stole from ye, ye don't hafta be weary of her."

Bootstrap didn't answer him right away, his face darkened and his eyes flashed with remembered pain. "It's jest that… after what happened with the mutiny an' all… I 'ave trouble trustin' new faces, Jack.  Especially with somethin' as important as this! But I'll take what ye said to 'eart…"

Jack raised an eyebrow at him with a questioning glance. Bootstrap blinked back quickly then spluttered, "Both! Both things ye said! I'll take 'em to 'eart!"

Jack grinned, then gave one vague nod of his head in satisfaction and turned back towards the door, rubbing his hands together with anticipation.  " I can smell a change in the weather!"

            Bootstrap followed behind him as they exited _The Faithful Bride_, grinning devilishly.  " Indeed! But… I'm thinking that it may get a bit stormy before it's all over..."

            " It always is." Jack said as he swaggered down the loud, raucous main street of Tortuga toward the docks.

~*~*~*~

            The last rays of the setting sun were fading behind the horizon.  The view was brilliant from the deck of _The Black Pearl_, which was anchored not far from the harbor.  Emma leaned on a railing, watching the children as they played about in the water over the port side of the ship in the shade of the boat.  Claire was playing her favorite game with Jamie, which involved diving deep down into the water, and then jumping out as high as she could and imitating the whales as they fell back down on their sides.  She always aimed her splashes directly at the boy, who tried to go under before she could get him in the face.  While Jamie was stronger and faster running on land, Claire was five times stronger a swimmer, and quite naturally.  Like Emma, when her daughter's feet touched the water of the ocean, they joined as fins. 

            Claire had just aimed a very large splash at Jamie and was laughing at him when he (much to her surprise) dove down and grabbed a hold of her tail. He gave her a sharp yank and she disappeared from the surface.

            Emma suppressed a smile as the two rose moments later in a sudden fit of laughter, then she turned and started gathering up their dirty garments that lay in a careless pile next to the railing.  When she picked up Claire's mud-stained dress, something small and white fell out of one of the hidden side pockets, along with a few loose shillings.  She ignored the money and instead focused on the white object, which refracted rainbow colors as it caught the light of the setting sun.  Emma's breath caught in her throat and she froze staring down at it in amazement.

The sound of the children's laughter suddenly became very distant in her ears as she hesitantly stooped down and picked up the smooth round disc.  She dropped the clothes she had clutched under her other arm as she scrutinized it.  The look on her face was a mixture of horror and fascination.  There were 12 lines etched around the perimeter of one side that were like the hours of a clock, and a set of runes decorated the edge of the reverse side.  One of the lines that pointed to 11 o'clock gave a brief pulsating glow in the fading light in response to the caress of her fingers as she ran one hand around it's edge in a full circle.

" This…this is…" She muttered under her breath and then turned and cried  "… CLAIRE!" Emma shot a glance over the railing. "CLAIRE! Up here NOW!" 

The children regarded her with outraged looks of disappointment.  But her stern face won over their protests and they reluctantly climbed up the ladder and stood dripping wet in their undergarments on the deck.  Claire had managed to pull herself up by her hands, and as soon as her tail hit the dry deck boards, she was able to stand on her own two feet again.

            Emma took a step towards her daughter, and then her legs seemed to give way from beneath her and she practically fell to her knees. Emma thrust the white disc under Claire's nose and her voice trembled as she asked,  " Claire… where did you find this?"

            Claire looked at the disc and gave a noncommittal shrug.  " We found it on the beach mum! Buried in the sand!"

Jamie caught his breath and looked at Claire startled. Picking up on this subtlety, Emma swiveled her gaze to Jamie and asked him the same question sternly,  " Where did you really find this, Jamie?"

Jamie opened and closed his mouth a few times, glancing back and forth between Emma and Claire.  Claire was giving him one of her ' If you snitch I'm going to beat you up' looks, but the idea of inciting the wrath of Emma won over Claire's warning stare. Jamie hunched his shoulders and looked at his feet.  He answered her very softly so that Emma had to strain to pick up his words, " The man had it."

" What man?" She said quickly.

" Me." Came a gruff voice from behind.

Emma jumped to her feet and spun around so fast that she almost tipped over.  " What?"

Bootstrap and Jack were just clearing the railing from the shore boat.  Will and Elizabeth stepped on the deck moments later. They had apparently all found each other and gone back to the ship together.  Will had a long wrapped package underneath one arm.

" DAD!" Cried Jamie excited.  He ran across the deck and launched himself at Will, throwing his arms around his shoulders as Will quickly lowered himself to one knee to receive him in a swift hug.

" I said… It's mine." Bootstrap continued, ignoring the distraction and held his hand out in an obvious gesture for her to give it back.  " Yer little treasure-snipe stole it from me.  Probably while they were bringing me to see Captain Jack."

Emma clutched the white disc to her bosom and shot him a worried look. His eyes were focused on her, they were not unkind, but there was a strange look of mischief in them that she found unsettling. 

" W—where did you find this?" She asked, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking.

" Found it?" He pursed his lips and looked at Jack, who was eyeing Emma with mild interest.  Why was she acting so strange? Did she know something about the disc that he did not?  He decided to tread this subject carefully until he could figure out what she was hiding.  " Why, Miss Emma." Bootstrap quickly changed his tone to a more lighthearted note.  " I found it during me adventures! It's but a trinket… I do fancy it though, so I'd like ter have it back, if ye wouldn't mind?"

For a moment, Emma looked as if she might turn and try to run for it without giving it back.  But reluctantly, with stiff legged strides, she closed the distance between them and very hesitantly pressed the disc into his open palm.

" You… be careful with that." She said under her breath to him, and then faltered, realizing that everyone's eyes were on her.  In an attempt to seem less criminal, she jumped back and said in as steady a voice as she could manage, "It's… very pretty… I wouldn't want to see it break."

Will exchanged confused glances with Elizabeth, then he turned and looked at Jack. The pirate captain was watching Emma with a look of cool amusement.  A hint of a smile was on his face as his eyes strayed down to regard her hands, which were clenched tight and buried in her skirts. She always did that when she was severely agitated.

" I will…" Bootstrap replied while thinking to himself, "_Yes… she DOES know something I don't!"  _ 

He immediately opened his mouth to press her for details.  But before he could utter a word, she whirled around so all he could see was the back of her head, and took off at a sprint across the deck.  She launched herself off of the far railing and dove into the water with barely a splash.

Bootstrap stood there dumbstruck at this strange occurrence with his mouth still hanging partially open.  "Uhh… ah! By the blazes Jack! Yer wench just pitched herself overboard!"

Claire, who had been forgotten during this exchange by all the adults saw Emma's unexpected dive as a good enough excuse to continue with her evening bath.  And so with a hoot of delight she took off at a run and jumped in after her mother.

" And now yer wee kitten!" Cried bootstrap horrified.  He dashed to the edge and looked down frantically, but they were nowhere to be seen on the surface of the water.

He shot a panicky glance at Jack and pointed down incredulously. " Drowned! They're drowned!!!" And he started to shrug off his coat as if to jump in after, but a hand clamped down on his shoulder and he turned surprised to see Will there with laughter in his eyes.  Bootstrap blinked confused and then glanced at Elizabeth, who was trying hard to suppress a smile.  Then he looked at Jack and his face fell into a perplexed frown.

  Jack's eyes were focused on the spot where Emma had disappeared into the water. With lips pursed, he seemed to be thinking very hard about something.

" Jack?" He asked hesitantly.

Then, Jack snapped back to the present and quickly turned to regard him.  The suave Captain swayed back on his heels and waved his hands dismissively.

" Oh, don't trouble yerself with her, mate… she likes to do that when she needs to cool off.  Ye get used to it after a while. Oh… and the slip of an urchin? She's fine too…"

Elizabeth, sufficiently recovered the mirth she'd gotten through the newcomers apparent confusion, covertly glanced at the white disc that was still in his grip.  There did not seem to be anything particularly special about it from her poor vantage point.  She wondered what it could be that had provoked such a response out of Emma.  

" _She must know what it is…"_ Elizabeth thought perplexed.  She studied the faces of both Jack and _Henry_, and could tell as they were exchanging meaningful glances, that they had picked up on that fact as well.   

There was a short silence among the group, and then Jack cleared his throat and turned to Will and Elizabeth.

" I'm just going to show Henry here around the ship a bit, he'll be sailing with us the day after tomorrow, as a member of me crew." He said this with the unfailing authority of a Captain addressing his crew.  "I'm in need of a new gunner, after all… and Henry here told me he's one o' the finest you'll find south o' the Bahamas." 

_Henry_ stood a little straighter and tried too look dignified, which was a long stretch with his disheveled, ragged appearance. But Jack's tone was undisputable.  Will and Elizabeth could only nod their heads dumbly in acceptance as he finished his speech.  They watched as Captain Jack Sparrow turned his back to them and draped a hand over the stranger's shoulder, leading him away in the direction of the helm. 

" So tell me, mate," Jack said in a low voice, glancing back discreetly to make sure Will and Elizabeth were out of earshot,  " Just what is it ye've brought up from the briny deep, eh…? What would put M'dear Emma in such a state?"

" As I was saying, Barbossa choose a right opportune spot to send me to Davey Jones' Locker! I sunk to the very depths of the ocean. And I surely would have been in perpetual blackness if it hadn't been for this little trinket here…"  Bootstrap held up the disc and Jack took it with one hand and turned it over a few times, studying both sides carefully.  There were lines around the edge of one side and a strange set of runes decorating the other side that looked like nothing more than little squiggly marks to his eyes.

" I managed to extricate meself from the canon and swam along the ocean floor, following the glowing light I saw in the distance… for what else was I to do, eh? After awhile of searching, I found a sunken ship that was so rotted and decayed from old age that it was barely a skeleton.  But the light was coming out o' it, so I investigated.  I found this disc partially buried under some debris amidst a hoard of loose treasure. The rune side glows when submerged.  It was my light and savior during those dark years at the bottom of the ocean."

" I've never seen anything like it," Jack said as he offered him back the white disc, which Bootstrap took eagerly.  

" That's not all, mate." Bootstrap interjected.  " Have ye ever heard of the Seal of Cleito?" 

" I've heard the stories." Jack answered casually.  He looked out over the horizon and said loftily, as if quoting some famous verse.  " Ye who finds the Seal of Cleito, shall know the key and unlock the mystery of Acaelum.  The cursed city half above and half below; take heed in its faith, the mists are the path to go." Jack trailed off and shot Bootstrap an amused look.  " Am I right?"

"Aye!" Bootstrap confirmed with a quick nod of his head, then grinned, "That was beautiful Jack!  So ye know the old stories, eh?"

" Well, Mr. Gibbs is filled with enough superstitious stories to keep me well entertained, I first learned of it from him." Jack confessed. 

Bootstrap nodded his head thoughtfully.  "Gibbs… aye! I seem to recall hearing that name." Then he shrugged, " Well, the stories are relatively accurate, so to speak, though they vary widely.  But the rundown is that Acaelum was an ancient city partially submerged in water.  It was also the only known city inhabited by Merfolk, hundreds and hundreds of years ago…but no one right knows what happened to it. Some say it was cursed, some say a natural disaster… I say maybe it was a bit o' both… "

Jack scratched under his chin thoughtfully, sending his braided beard dancing.  " Acaelum is only a myth, there's no proof it existed. It's a very crazy venture yer proposing, mate…" Then his face broke into a grin,  " … It sounds like fun."

" Aye! This is proof enough, isn't it?" Bootstrap shook the disc in front of Jack's nose for emphasis, making the roguish pirate lean back on his heels to keep himself from having to look at it cross-eyed.  "We jest need to find out how it works… and when we do, we could find Acaelum! Imagine that, eh?  It's supposed to have wonders beyond yer wildest dreams! Not just any old silver and gold, Jack… but the very treasures of the merfolk! How priceless would they be, eh?! And it's not just the swag… think o' the adventure! We'd be famous if we found the place! Our names would go down in the history books as explorers! Alongside Cortez, and Columbus!!  Riches and fame… how can ye say no to that, Jack?"

" You're right… it's a very tempting venture, mate." Jack agreed.  Instead of the fervor that was in Bootstraps eyes though, he was looking contemplative and distant.  The perpetual smirk was still adorning his face as he stroked his beard absently.  He had soaked up all that Bootstrap had said, weighed the facts and come to the conclusion that the little disc he'd brought back was indeed the Seal of Cleito.  Emma's reaction had all but proved it to him.  It was a merfolk artifact, and she'd recognized it for what it was.  The puzzle pieces were all beginning to fall into place for him. But there was still the largest question to be answered, what did she know about Acaelum? What was it about the Seal of Cleito that had made her so nervous?  His eye twitched and he stole a glance out over the side of the ship where Emma had disappeared.

Bootstrap caught his glance and frowned contemplatively,  " I'm positive that woman o' yours knows something Jack… did ye see the way she looked at me? It was like I was some kind o' monster for carrying the thing around! What do ye reckon she knows?"

Jack didn't say anything for a while, then gave his friend a mischievous smile and crossed over to lean against the helm.

" I'll tell ye one thing mate…" He said from his new vantage point, which gave him a good view of the sunset. " When Emma wants to keep her mouth shut, it's nearly impossible to get her to say a word."

" But Jack! If we let her in on the plan, don't ye think she'd help?"

" Not likely." Jack's eyes glittered.  " Ye see… in regards to M'dear Emma, your overlooking one tiny but crucial fact, mate…"

" What's that?" Bootstrap gave him a dubious look.

Jack was smiling from ear to ear as he pointed out at the water, and then gave a vague gesture to the disc his friend was holding.  " I'd wager me hat that she can read that writing on yer tiny disc there, and knows perfectly well what it means."

Bootstrap's face hung in suspended animation for that moment as Jack's words slowly sunk in. Then he gave a sudden jolt of surprise and whirled around to look out at the water again, there was still no sign of Emma or Jack's daughter to be found on the glassy ocean surface.  He spun back to face Jack with a look of amazement.

" Ye don't mean to tell me… that she's…?"

" Aye!" Jack answered coolly to Bootstraps unfinished question.  " And me daughter as well… she would be getting' that part from her mother's side, obviously."

His friend continued to stare in shocked amazement for a few more seconds, then his face broke into a grin and he let out a short, barking laugh.  " It figures, ye old sea dog! That ye'd find yerself a woman as crazy and unusual as yerself! Why… shiver me timbers, I thought it strange that ye'd settled down… but now I can see why. Ye found yerself one o' the rarest treasures in all the seven sea's!  This is great, Jack! I'm sure she knows everything there is to know about it!"  And he gave an enthusiastic jump in the air, almost tripped over his fraying bootlaces, and staggered for a moment as he righted himself.  He pushed a handful of hair out of his eyes and looked up at Jack sheepishly for his over-the-top enthusiasm.

Jack grinned at him, there was certainly a reason everyone called him bootstrap.  The man could never keep his shoelaces tied.  And so was quite prone to tripping over them.  It was good to see that the past twenty years had not changed him too greatly.  But Bootstraps sheepish smile soon dwindled away as a silence descended between the two old friends.  Jack could see the man's eyes take on a look of cunning and his lips curled back in a familiar devious smile.  The pirate captain shifted his weight back to the balls of his feet and regarded him expectantly. He could almost guess what Bootstrap was thinking.

" How do we make 'er tell us what she knows?" He said conspiratorially.

Jack's smile didn't falter, but he straightened to his full height and said. " I told ye before, mate… she won't say a word if she wants to keep her mouth shut..." Then he turned as if to go, but hesitated and said discreetly over his shoulder.  " Unless of course… ye press her in the right places."

" Ye know where?" Bootstrap asked him eagerly.

Jack just shrugged his shoulders noncommittally before continuing down the steps from the helm to the main deck. He did not answer. 

" Feel free to stay the night down in the crew's quarters," Jack called over his shoulder to him as he reached the base of the steps.  " We'll get ye some decent clothes on yer back first thing tomorrow."  He opened the door to the captain's cabin and sauntered inside, leaving Bootstrap alone to mull over what Jack had said.

~*~*~*~

Elizabeth had stiffened when she saw Jack put a hand around the strangers shoulder and led him away towards the stern of the ship.  Their heads were together and she could see Jack talking very quietly in the man's ear.  He had a crooked smile on his face, which she had seen many times before and knew well enough. It meant he was up to no good.

" They're up to something." She said to Will quietly.

" Da! Did you bring me my present?" Jamie interrupted the somber moment quite tactlessly.

Will exchanged amused glances with Elizabeth and said. " Oh, well it's nice to see you too, Jamie."

" Is that it?" Jamie asked quickly, eyeing the package excitedly.

Will nodded and then set him down and held it out to him.  Jamie took it reverently and tore the wrapping off. It was a smooth and finely crafted wooden sword.

Jamie's eyes alighted at the gift and he looked up at his father expectantly. 

" I thought I'd start teaching you how to use one of those." Will said with gravity. " You'll get a real one when you can learn how to use this one properly."  Jamie gave a great whoop of delight and set off at a run towards the bow of the ship, swinging the sword about him as if fighting off imaginary foes.

" Thanks Da!!" They could hear his voice trailing off as he disappeared behind the foremast.

Will shot a nervous glance at Elizabeth, who had both hands on her hips and was giving him a hard-eyed glare.

" I thought we agreed, not until he's ten!" She said through clenched teeth.

Will gave her an apologetic shrug,  " He'll be ten this year, and I thought it would be a good gift for him." 

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head, " Well, too late now, you can't exactly take it away from him." 

There was a long pause and they both looked again over at Jack and _Henry_, who were talking conspiratorially on the helm of the ship.

Will watched the back of slightly taller, thinner figure of the stranger and shook his head confused.  "It just doesn't make sense!"

" What doesn't?" Elizabeth asked.

" Henry…" He screwed up his face into a contemplative frown and squared his shoulders.  " He just shows up out of nowhere, sits at our table for a drink of rum, listens to all our plans, and is suddenly Jack Sparrow's trusted new friend?"

" Yes, and I'd love to know what that white disc is that Emma was so nervous about that they seem so keen on discussing without us." Elizabeth added heatedly in agreement to his complaints.

Will nodded,  " It's too much for it to be coincidence… That man definitely knows Jack from somewhere! But where?"

" We've been sailing with Jack for nearly ten years." Elizabeth said, then pursed her lips and shrugged. "So he must know Henry from before then."

Will stood watching them for a moment, and then took a step hesitantly in their direction.  Elizabeth could see he was thinking hard.

" But why lie to us? Jack told me at The Faithful Bride that the man was no one to be concerned with. Why didn't Jack introduce him to us himself if he was such an old friend?"

" Who knows why Jack does what he does?" Elizabeth said with finality, throwing her hands up in the air exasperated.  " I can never figure him out anyways…"

Will took a deep breath, then exhaled with one great sigh and turned his back to them.  Reluctantly, he made his way towards the hatch leading to the hold.  

" I'll worry about it in the morning, I'm too tired to think on it now." He said wearily.  

Elizabeth called Jamie back to them and ushered the rambunctious boy over to the hatch, telling him sternly that if he so much as took a swing anywhere within ten feet of her, he wouldn't see that sword again until morning.  Jamie took this warning to heart and hugged it to his torso as he descended the steps behind his father.  Elizabeth spared once last glance back over her shoulder at the two conniving scalawags before disappearing from view.  

Once below deck, Will paused at the door that led to their small apartment.  With pursed lips, he turned to Elizabeth and said, " And I still can't shake that feeling I get…"

" What feeling?" She asked.

" Like I've seen him somewhere before."

" Maybe it'll come to you in the morning, after you get some rest. It's been a long day." She said soothingly.

Will didn't look convinced, but nodded his head reluctantly and opened the door.

It wasn't long afterwards when he finally lay his head down to sleep.  But his dreams were filled with anxiety.  There was the shadowy face of a man.  Pain and betrayal overcame Will as the man turned his back to him and started to walk away.  No matter how much Will yelled at him to come back, he would not turn around. He stood there, powerless to stop him until he disappeared completely from view.

~*~*~*~

Jack smiled the moment he opened the door to his cabin at the familiar sight of a dripping wet Emma standing in the middle of his threadbare carpet ringing the water from her hair.  His daughter was beside him looking jubilant.  She ran up to him as he closed the door and looked down at her with interest. Claire held out her hands, showing him a rather large and very dirty oyster that she's apparently found on her latest excursion from the bottom of the bay in Tortuga Harbor.

" Look what I found, da! D'ye think it has a pearl in it?"

" Let's take a look, poppet." Jack knelt on his knee and brought a knife out of his boot with a swift flick of the wrist.  He took the oyster from her hand and skillfully slid the knife between the tightly closed ridges of its shell, prying it open easily.

Claire hung over him entranced and watched with baited breath.  Emma stood in the background with a warm smile on her face, but her mind was still preoccupied with the day's recent events, particularly the sudden appearance of The Seal of Cleito.  She watched distractedly as he fished around inside the meat of the oyster with the tip of his knife, and was relieved to hear a squeal of delight from Claire as a large round white pearl popped to the surface.  It was about the size of a dime, and glowed dully in the last rays of the sun that shone through the window.

" That's got to be one o' the largest one's I've seen yet, poppet." Jack scrutinized it deftly, turning it over between his fingers.  " Nearly perfect shape too… Ye'd best keep a good handle on it now, savvy?"

" Savvy!" She responded victoriously as she took up the offered pearl between thumb and forefinger.  Jack reached his free hand out and ruffled her hair, then glanced at Emma who had not moved from her place in the middle of the carpet.  A rather large puddle had formed around her and she was staring off into space distractedly, lost in her own thoughts.  He slid his knife back into his boot and stood, giving his daughter an obvious glance towards the door.

" Go show Jamie now, love. I'll wager he'll be wantin' to show ye his new present as well."

Claire left the room in a huff of excitement, leaving Jack to regard Emma.  The woman looked at him pale faced through the dripping wet strands of golden hair that were carelessly plastered to her face. He sauntered over to his desk and sat in the bolted down chair, swiveling his feet up to rest them crossed on the tabletop.  He regarded her with a look of mild amusement.

" I had a talk with Bootstrap." He said through a glittering smile.  " I reckon that he's up to no good with that little white disc.  Ye know what it is, don't ye?"

Emma nodded mutely.

" It's called _The Seal of Cleito_, am I right?"

Emma nodded again.

" What else do ye know?"

She pursed her lips, then shook her head and slumped down on the edge of the bed, resting her chin in her hands.

" Nothing." She said shortly.

Jack's eyebrow shot up and he looked at her dubiously.  " Do ye really expect me to believe that, love?"

She shot him an indignant glare; all previous traces of nervousness were gone from her countenance, and then looked away angrily.  " I told you, I don't know anything!"

"_Well…"_ Jack thought, "_So much for the straightforward approach."_  So she was going to make things interesting for him then… He smiled as an idea formed in his mind, and instead said.

" Bootstrap has a mind to find Acaelum…"

He watched her out of the corner of his eye, Emma's jaw clenched and she tensed slightly.  But her face remained immobile.

" Oh?" She said after a moment, trying to sound unconcerned.  " That place is not real."

" That's what I said." Jack grinned at her. 

Emma glanced up at him and her look softened.    It was comforting to know that he was at least on her side.  She had not handled the earlier encounter with Bootstrap very well.   The shock of suddenly finding The Seal of Cleito amongst her daughter's possessions had unnerved her so greatly that she'd completely forgotten that it was best to be discreet in such circumstances, especially when she did not want attention drawn to her.  Jumping off the ship had been a stupid move too, but she couldn't help herself. She didn't know how else to loose her tension in that moment.  While she trusted Jack, she did not yet trust Bootstrap.  That much she knew for sure.  And the knowledge that he was planning on looking for Acaelum was not a great surprise to her.  She glanced at Jack again and an overwhelming feeling of guilt washed over her.  She was not used to lying to him. She'd not done such a thing since when she'd first met him… She hated herself in that moment, but it was for his safety that he didn't know. It was for his safety, and the safety of everyone on the ship that no one knew anymore about that Seal than the scattered accounts and fairytales that had arisen around it by the seafaring community over the ages.  She knew Jack well enough that even if he really knew, he probably would not take heed to her warnings, he wouldn't see them as serious enough to merit caution.  She had to remain silent, that was the only answer. If he didn't know, then there was no way he or Bootstrap would find Acaelum, and they would remain safe.  

" _It's for his safety… for Claire's… everyone's_!" She told herself over and over again. 

But it didn't mean she still didn't feel horrible about the situation.

" Jack…" She finally said, watching her hands folded in her lap.  " I know you're curious… but I can't say anything more."

" That's what I figured." Jack said, watching her wearily.  " Don't worry, love… I'm sure ye have your reasons, ye only needed to say so."

" I'm sorry." She said shortly, feeling horribly inadequate in that moment.  The room felt hot and stuffy, and she longed for the cool sea breeze on her face.  She stood up and gave him a tiny smile. " I'm… just going to take a breath of air, I'll be back in a moment."

He didn't answer her, but she could feel his eyes following her all the way to the door. As she closed the door behind her and walked out onto the edge of the railing, her mind was in a complete state of chaos.  She couldn't keep her silence up for long, she knew that much. What could she do to make things right without having to tell him everything she knew?

" _Bootstrap wants to find Acaelum?"_ she remembered Jack's warning and shivered despite the heat.  " _If only I could get that disc back.  It would be better off at the bottom of the ocean. That horrible thing_!"

She grabbed a hold of the railing as a plan began to form in her mind.  Yes! If she could only get that disc… it would only take her a second to chuck it into the water. They would never be able to find it again.  All her worries would be solved! 

With this plan firmly lodged in her mind, she turned around and headed back towards the Captain's Cabin, feeling much better.  If she could just get rid of the object, then she wouldn't have to lie anymore, or avoid dangerous questions. 

_" I just have to make sure I don't get caught…"_ She thought a little nervously.  " _Well, if Claire can steal it from under Bootstraps nose, why can't I?"_


	4. The Poor Thief

The Seal of Cleito

(A/N-revision: 9-30-03- My original upload was not spell-checked! *Cringes* So sorry!  That's what I get for trying to finish this thing at 2 AM… so anyways, that has been fixed. I hope it's relatively free of stupid errors now. =)

 I'm SOOOOoooo sorry for how late this chapter is. I got REALLY really stinking sick last week (even more than the week before).  And then I was out of town all weekend. So I didn't get the chance to put this chapter up until now.  It's really long and so I hope that makes up for the tardiness! Expect the next chapter sometime next week.  I won't have any time to write again until next Sunday most likely.)

Chapter 4- The Poor Thief 

The dawn of the next day promised to be as stifling and hot as the last.  Emma opened her eyes to the sounds of thumping and scraping on the poop deck above and jumped at a sudden 'THUMP' of a barrel falling and rolling on the ceiling just above her head.  It seemed that the crew was hard at work with the preparations for the voyage to Nassau. According to Jack, they would be sailing the following morning. Will must have found Gibbs last night, and Gibbs in turn must have found the rest of the crew, which would account for the early morning disturbances.  They would want to get most of the preparations done before the full heat of the day took hold.  Emma stretched and rolled over with the desire to bury her face in Jack's chest and try to catch a few more winks before she had to face the day. But she was disappointed to find that he was not there.

Reluctantly, she sat up and stretched and looked about the cabin.  His coat and hat were not on the chair, which meant that he was probably carrying out Captain's duties on deck.  Then, with a sudden sinking feeling she remembered the events of the previous day.  The knowledge of Bootstrap's sudden appearance, coupled with the unnerving discovery that he carried _The Seal of Cleito_ settled on her like a rain cloud.  She felt her good mood quickly disappear.  Emma remembered her late-night decision to try and steal it from him to dispose of the object.  It was still the only solution that she could come up with, but the idea of it made her stomach do an uncomfortable turn.  She was not a thief.  She would have to try and get the object by devious means rather than pickpocket him.   She swallowed hard at the thought of what might happen to her if she was caught.  Jack had told her that Bootstrap was a member of the crew, and he therefore fell under the pirate's code of conduct.  If she was caught stealing from him, like any member, even she wasn't exempt from a sound lashing as punishment.

She jumped as another great 'BANG' was heard above and then with a grumble rose from the bed and reached for her clothes.  She would make everything right today. Nothing would stop her from getting her hands on that disc!

~*~*~*

" Bring those canon balls down to the gun deck." Will directed Kursar and Ladbroc, who between the two had a particularly heavy crate of ammunition.  " And Quartetto, Put the first barrel of apples in the galley and the other one in the hold for later."

" Mr. Cotton!" Jack's voice carried over Will's as he called from the Helm.  " When yer done storing those ropes, clean out the canon's! They're so filthy it's likely they'll blow up our own ship next time we use 'em!"

            " Wow Jack," Bootstrap surveyed the view from the helm and grinned a toothy smile.  " It feels great to have my feet back on a sturdy vessel.  I'd almost forgotten the feel of freedom."  

The gaunt and disheveled man had cleaned himself up quite a bit since yesterday.  His hair had been washed and was pulled back at the nape of the neck into a small ponytail, his beard was trimmed, and he sported a travel-stained white shirt (which was a thousand times better for wear than his old shirt). Over this, he wore a frayed but relatively clean looking black vest, and his pants looked as if they're previous owner had been dragged through the dirt for several miles.  He had steadfastly refused to get rid of his patched coat, however, which he wore about his person like royalty, and his old worn out boots and their frayed laces.  The final accoutrement to his new ensemble was an old and cracked leather Baldric slung over his shoulder with a cutlass that hung at his hip, and a flintlock pistol tucked securely in his belt.

Jack looked at his friend and gave him an appreciative smile. " Well, freedom doesn't come easy, mate… when yer in my line of work!"

" Faith! That do be true." Bootstrap agreed whole-heartedly as he surveyed the crew hard at work, but no matter how hard he tried to keep his attention on the work at hand, his gaze continually strayed to Will.  Jack could see his eyes soften as he watched the tall dark haired man directing the storage of the food and ammunition. It made the pirate captain think back to what had happened earlier that morning, when Elizabeth and Will has first laid eyes on Bootstrap in his new ensemble.  

_The change had been so dramatic, that Bootstrap had made both Will and Elizabeth do a double take.  Elizabeth had squinted at the stranger slightly, then shot a comparative glance at Will, and back again.  Luckily for Bootstrap, she had been quickly called away on an errand before she'd had the time to make any further connections from her observations of Henry's unusual likeness to her husband. Lucky for Bootstrap, Will wasn't keen enough on his own features to realize that he was looking at a much older, thinner, and dirtier copy of himself._

_" I almost didn't recognize you, Henry." He said with a warm smile. " It's a vast improvement from yesterday."_

_" Aye! Well, it seems my ill luck is on an upturn." Bootstrap said thankfully, absently patting his side where the cutlass hung.  " Captain Jack was good enough to lend me some o' his old throw-offs."_

_" You'll have plenty of time to fill them out on the upcoming voyage." Elizabeth said, a little distractedly, still looking from him to her husband in obvious confusion._

_Bootstrap shot her a nervous smile, but thankfully Jamie plunged into the center of the ring with his sword, and provided a well-timed distraction._

_" Arrr!! Barbossa ye white-livered squid!" He cried brandishing his wooden sword at Bootstrap, " Draw yer sword or prepare to die!"_

_" I accept yer challenge whelp!" Bootstrap cried, eager to escape from Elizabeth's penetrating eyes.  He did a quick sidestep away from a clumsy stab from Jamie and drew his sword.  He shot a quick smile and a wink at Will, as if to say, " Ye can trust me with the lad." And allowed the boy to push him back towards the stern of the ship._

_" Jamie, after you kill Barbossa I want you back here to help me with an errand!" Called Elizabeth.  " So make it quick, won't you?"_

_" Yes mum!" said Jamie just as Bootstrap tripped backwards over his bootlaces and fell flat on his back.  Jamie went in for the kill, plunging the tip of the sword in the crook of the older man's armpit.  _

_" Curses!  Ye haven't seen the last of me!" Bootstrap cried, holding the sword upright with his free hand as he gave a dramatic convulsion, " I shall have my revenge!"_

_" I win!" Jamie cried joyfully.  He grabbed up his sword and turned to run back to his mother.  Elizabeth, Jack and Will all had watched the exchange with amusement.  _

" Even if the circumstances are suspicious," whispered Elizabeth to her husband. " Henry seems rather genuine, don't you think?"

_" I… suppose so…" Will agreed, then turned to see his wife and son off the ship, for one last trip to shore before they would be departing._

_Bootstrap was sitting up and had watched this exchange from afar, Jack could see a pained smile on his face as Will gave Elizabeth a kiss on the cheek as she climbed onto the ladder and disappeared over the edge of the ship._

            " Ah!" Bootstrap uttered a cry of surprise that snapped Jack back to the present.  " There's yer wench! Finally awake now…"

            Jack directed his gaze directly downward over the railing and sure enough, Emma had emerged into the sunlight.  She immediately looked up and her face lit up at the sight of Jack, then she glanced at Bootstrap who was also looking down at her with an unreadable smile on his face.  Her smile faltered and then she turned away quickly and walked along the length of the deck. Elizabeth had just returned from her errand, and climbed on board with Claire and Jamie close behind her. A few seconds later, two more pirates climbed up over the edge, hoisting up between the two of them a rather large and heavy looking chest that Elizabeth directed towards the hold.  In her arms, she held several wrapped parcels and each of the children held their own small package clutched protectively to their chest.

            " Emma! Good morning," Elizabeth smiled warmly to the girl as she approached.

            " Elizabeth! Let me help you with some of those." Emma grabbed up two of the parcels from the top of Elizabeth's pile without waiting for permission and they started to head for the deck below.  " What is all this for?"

            " Oh! Well… we're not exactly coming back to Tortuga for all I know.  And I hear rumors that the Spanish are planning to attack.  I couldn't bear to leave some of my favorite possession's behind to be destroyed or looted.  The same goes for the children.  I told them to take their most precious items."

            Emma was relieved that the few things that she treasured were all stored in Jack's cabin and she didn't have to go on shore.  She glanced down at Claire and raised an eyebrow at the girl's small parcel.

            " What did you bring with you, darling?" Emma asked her daughter.

            Claire smiled brightly up at her.  " My treasure!"

            " Treasure, eh?" She grinned as they made their way towards the stairs leading to the brig. " And what would that be?"

            " It's a secret." She said protectively.

            Emma gave her a dubious look, " Well, okay, go stash it and come right back, there is work to do before we set sail." She handed the parcels she'd been carrying for Elizabeth to a pirate who was already on his way down.

            " Where are we going?" Claire asked.

            " To a port called Nassau." Emma said matter-of-factly. " I think you'll like it very much."

            " Are there oysters in the harbor?" Asked Claire.

            " I don't know. But I imagine there should be."

            " I hope so!" Claire said with excitement, and then she turned and disappeared below deck in pursuit of Jamie and Elizabeth.

            With her daughter amply distracted, and she found herself with a moment of free time, Emma looked around for Bootstrap.  She frowned when she no longer found him at the helm where she'd seen him just moments before. 

" Have you seen Henry?" She asked Matellot who happened to be walking by with his arms full of grapples.  The sun burnt face turned to her with an inquisitive look.

" That's the new guy, right?" He asked. " Tall and really skinny?"

" Yes." Emma confirmed with a nod.

" I think he's on the gun deck."  
            Before Emma could utter a word of thanks, he turned and scurried away at a shout from Gibbs.  She spared a covert glance around the deck, noticed that Jack had his attention on the proceedings of hoisting a canon on board the ship, and walked as swiftly and stealthily as she could towards the opening to the gun deck.

            She found Bootstrap checking the port side guns. 

            " Everything in order?" She asked hesitantly.  Bootstrap straightened at the voice and turned a little nervously, his eyes scanned her suspiciously in a quick glance and then he smiled.

            " Aye Miss Emma… Jest checking to make sure they're properly cleaned.  The gun's aren't much good if they backfire on ye." He patted the gun he was examining knowingly, then moved over to the next and knelt to inspect the inside.

            " Umm…" Emma faltered, wondering how in the world she was supposed to get that disc from him.  " Uhh…"   

            " Aye?" Bootstrap glanced up from over the canons barrel.  " Is there something I can do for ye?"  
            " Oh- no… nothing. " Emma gave him a very forced smile and danced backwards slightly.  "Do you still have…that little trinket of yours from yesterday?  You do know what it is, don't you?"

            " Aye." Bootstrap nodded his head unconcernedly, but his eyes sparkled.  He put on his best look of mild interest.  " The Seal of Cleito, that's what it's called, right?"

            " Yes!" Emma said quickly, unable to hide her nervousness. " Yes it is…"

There was another long, uncomfortable pause where both looked like they wanted to say something, but didn't know exactly how to say it. 

Finally, Emma broke the silence, " Well… I just came down to… uhh… apologize! Yeah—apologize for my daughter for the other day.  She didn't know you, and strangers are fair game to her.  But now that you're part of the crew, you needn't worry about her."  As she said this, she walked closer to him, until they were standing only a few feet apart.  " I promise she'll be on her best behavior from now on…" Emma trailed off a little nervously. Her fingers twitched and she was thinking hard about how she might be able to close those few feet and get the disc without rousing his suspicions. 

            " Aye…" Bootstrap's smile faltered and he pursed his lips.  He had about a hundred questions he wanted to ask her, but he didn't know how to even start without scaring her off as he had the other day.  Jack had said 'If you know where to press.' But he didn't know the slightest thing about this strange golden haired mermaid.  " I'll be sure to remember that."

            "Good..." Emma said haltingly, mentally kicking herself for being so stupid. How in the world was she supposed to steal it from him?! She was sure he was on to her. He had the strangest look on his face at that moment.  She had no idea what he was thinking. All at once her resolve crumbled.  She would have to come up with some sort of plan.  The straightforward approach so far was getting her absolutely nowhere.  " Well then…" And she gave a tiny curtsy and turned to go, but halted suddenly as his hand caught her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

" Miss Emma…" Bootstrap's voice sounded desperate as Emma turned to regard him with a questioning glance.  The man scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, then seemed to steel himself to what he was about to say and squared his shoulders.  She could feel the tension in his posture as he spoke.

" Jack told me to trust you… and I'll take that to 'eart.  I have a mind to go after Acaelum with the disc."

Emma's eyes widened slightly, just the mere mention of that place sent her heart pounding wildly in her chest.  She tried her best to look calm though, and after a moment of not saying anything, Bootstrap continued.

" It would certainly be helpful if ye could tell me what ye know.  Seeing as I don't know much about the Seal of Cleito."

" I really couldn't help you there." Emma said quickly, tiptoeing around his question with as vague an answer as she could come up with. She was acutely aware of his hand tightening on her wrist involuntarily, " It's a lot of myths and nonsense really… nothing you'd be interested in hearing."****

" --Don't be so sure…" He interrupted her excitedly.  His face was alight with a strange chaotic fervor that she recognized from yesterday, " I'd be most interested in hearing what sorts of stories yer kind has about it! Please do tell!"

" My kind???" Emma muttered uncomfortably, "What do you mean?"

" Jack told me about you." Bootstrap said. 

Her eyes widened in concern, and he sputtered, " I don't mind it!" with hasty reassurance.  " I think it's quite fascinating actually.  I've never met one before." He threw his head back and chuckled to himself.  " It's rather unusual actually… seeing as I spent about ten years wandering the depth's. There must not be many of ye left…"

" No…" Muttered Emma. " You're right, there are not many of us left…" She wanted more than anything to be on deck and away from this confrontation. Oh! How in the world did Claire do it?  

Emma paused in her thoughts when she noticed Bootstrap staring over her shoulder.  His face had fallen from eager to somber in seconds.  With a sudden feeling of dread, she whirled around to see Jack standing in the doorway watching the two of them.  He was leaning with one shoulder against the vertical wooden support and his glance was directed at Bootstrap with… was that anger?

Emma yanked her hand away from Bootstrap and lengthened the distance between the two of them with a few hurried steps. Her heart was pounding as she realized just how bad a position he'd caught them in and turned to Jack, trying her best to look cool. 

" Oh good, there you are…" She said, trying desperately to come up with a good reason for why she was talking to Bootstrap alone on the gun deck when she knew perfectly well that she should have been helping with the loading above.  

Thankfully, she didn't have to open her mouth, because Jack did first and saved her from having to give a lame excuse.

            " I came down to tell 'Henry' that he's needed on deck, there's two new canons that need to be brought below." Jack said this with an unconcerned tone of voice, but his narrowed eyes flashed dangerously as he glanced at Bootstrap.  

" Aye, Captain…" Bootstrap hastily bobbed his head and then bustled past the two of them, disappearing up the stairs with amazing speed.

            Emma's heart sank as her chance to get the disc walked out of the room and up the stairs. Some thief she was turning out to be! She'd had the perfect chance and had completely blown it! Then she stiffened as Jack's narrow eyes shifted to her.

            " The bosun told me that there's some food in the galley for ye if yer hungry, love." He said silkily. 

            Hunger had been the furthest thing from Emma's mind at that moment.  She knew her face was bright red; she felt guilty and ashamed that Jack had caught her in such an embarrassing situation and wanted desperately to set him straight.  But even more she didn't want to excite his suspicion at what she was up to.  He didn't seem to be asking her for excuses though, so she figured it would be better to just brush off the entire ordeal and act normal.

" Thank you, I think I will have that bite to eat."  She said and then flashed a warm smile at him as she headed towards the doorway, hoping that it would abate any anger that he might still be harboring.  It seemed to work, because he extended his hand as she passed by and caught her by the waist, pulling her close to him with unexpected ferocity.  Emma found herself crushed up against his chest in that moment and he bent his head down to kiss her.  He was quite used to taking what he wanted, and she'd grown used to his sudden and sporadic bursts of affection.  It was part of his unpredictability and charm.  

She was slightly breathless when he released her as quickly and with just as little warning. He leaned in and whispered in her ear with a hint of ardor in his voice.

" I don't care what you are up to love, but don't let me catch ye like that again… You know I don't like to share what's mine, and I'm prepared to prove it to ye the hard way if need be…"

As he spoke, Emma's emotions took her from hope, to guilt, to anger.  She had not had those intensions in the slightest, and he was accusing her of being unfaithful? The injustice of it all was enraging.

She flashed him the back of her left hand as if to hit him, but stopped just short of his cheek, he did not even wince as they glared at each other.  Emma held her hand up, displaying an empty ring finger and said scathingly, " What's yours? What's YOURS? Do you see a ring on this finger? NO! Whose fault is that? YOURS! So tell me again what is YOURS when you remedy that situation!"

Without another word, she whirled around and stalked away down the stairwell towards the galley.  Jack hadn't moved from his position against the side of the doorway that entire time, but his mouth had upturned and he followed her with his eyes until she'd completely disappeared from site.  God, how he loved that woman!  But… marriage? The very thought sent a shiver of terror up his spine.  He was perfectly happy where he was, why should he change anything?  Then, his grin fell to a frown as he turned and walked back up to the deck.  He hadn't thought for a second that she'd actually been unfaithful; he'd only thought to tease her.  He had a pretty good idea what she had been doing down there, it had to do with the Seal of Cleito, he was positive on that account.  He'd been pondering since last night about how he'd get her to tell him what she knew (because he was strongly of the opinion that Acaelum would be a great side trip on the way to Nassau).  Now, the strange encounter on the gun deck suddenly gave him an idea.  He spotted Bootstrap, who was straining with one of the canons to bring it across the deck.  The man caught Jack's stern eyed gaze and paled considerably.  Jack stood and watched him with his back against the mainmast as they loaded the canon onto a lift to hoist to the gallery below.  As soon as the work was done, he caught Jack's gaze and wandered over to him. 

" Don't be mad, Jack… if it's about what ye saw down there… I swear I didn't do anything!" Bootstrap was adamant in his defense. Jack folded his arms and rolled his head back, gazing coolly down the ridge of his nose.

" What makes ye think I'm mad?" He asked his friend.

Bootstrap faltered with his next excuse already on his lips, " Err…well… ye didn't look too happy is all…so I assumed that--"

" No, no…" Jack waved his hands in the air, and then pointed at Bootstrap purposefully. " I'm not mad, I know what you're up to."

" Ye do?" He said dubiously.

" Aye!  But, here's a little warning…be smart about it, savvy?"

            Bootstrap blinked confused, and then nodded his head. "Smart? Of course! Anything ye say…Jack…" 

            " Good!" Jack's somber face melted away and was instantly replaced with a whole-hearted smile.  " Well, back to work then, eh? Mate?"

            " Aye, Captain." Bootstrap looked a shade paler as he turned and made his way back towards the gun deck.  He didn't know exactly what it was Jack had warned him against… but, like Jack, he was not one to let anything stand in-between him and what he wanted. He would just have to be more careful in regards to Emma in the days ahead.

Captain Jack Sparrow watched Bootstrap stagger away with an amused expression, and then noticed Elizabeth was lingering nearby, and shot a glance at her.

" Eh! Mrs. Turner, would ye do me the favor of checking out that crack in the topmast? Make sure that it's no danger of breaking in a storm?"

Elizabeth jumped up as if stung, and then headed over to the shroud with amazing speed. " Yes, Captain!"  

Jack watched her scurry up with a glittering smile.   Then turned and sauntered over to Gibbs.

" May I ask what yer in such a good mood about, Captain?" Mr. Gibbs inquired in response to Jack's smile.

" Double the food stores." Jack instructed.  " And the water and grog… We might be at sea a bit longer than a fortnight…"

" Aye?" Mr. Gibbs raised an eyebrow questioningly, " Why do you reckon, Jack?"

" I have a feeling." Was all Jack would say. 

" Well, if ye have something up yer sleeve, I'm sure we'll all be hearing of it in good time…" Gibbs said with a laugh and a shrug, " That's what we've all come to expect from ye, after all…" then he turned and began barking his orders.  

Jack watched from the sidelines, his smile did not falter. If everything continued as he planned, they would all be seeing Acaelum in the near future. 

~*~*~*

The sun was finally setting behind the horizon as the work for the day thankfully ended.  The crew took this time to unwind by holding a celebration for luck in the voyage ahead.  They drank rum, sang raucous and jaunty pirate tunes, and danced, swaggering and lurching about the deck in an intoxicated fervor.  Claire was happily spinning about on the dance floor, being passed from one large set of hands to another and she laughed in delight at being the center of so much attention.  Emma sat on the sidelines, lost in thought with her eyes on Jack.  After her outburst, things had gotten so busy that she'd barely had any time to talk to him.  Part of her was regretting at being so angry, but the other part felt quite righteous.  She admitted to herself that she harbored a deeply buried jealousy of Elizabeth and Will's relationship.  They could happily say they'd been married for over ten years!  But her and Jack? What was their relationship exactly? She was his partner in every intimate way; she'd even born his child! She thought of herself as his wife in all but name.  But she did not have a ring on her finger.  Most of the time she choose not to think about it.  What did a ring mean anyways? It was only a piece of jewelry right? Marriage and Jack Sparrow were not two words that one normally heard in the same sentence.  

She sighed heavily, feeling extremely depressed, her eyes strayed over to Bootstrap, who was talking animatedly with Jamie and laughing.  She thought of her mission to steal the Seal of Cleito and felt even worse.  Not only had she failed miserably at stealing it that morning, but also the remainder of the day had been so busy that she hadn't had another chance to take it, let alone get close enough to Bootstrap for the opportunity.  She was fairly sure that he kept it in his jacket pocket at all times, because he frequently checked it and would always be weary whenever the kids (particularly Claire) were near.  

Bootstrap had his hand in that pocket right at that moment as Jamie left his company to dance around the pirates and join in the singing. Emma, feeling extremely sorry for her, lifted her mug to continue drowning her sorrows, but noticed with disappointment that it was empty.  In a huff, she stood up and crossed the party to the casket of rum for a refill.  Bootstrap was sitting beside it and she noticed through the corner of her eye that he was also reaching the end of his drink. Suddenly, an idea dawned on her and she remembered the time Elizabeth had told her how she'd gotten Jack out of the way when they'd been stranded on the deserted island so that she could build her signal fire.  She'd gotten him stinking drunk! Of course! Why hadn't she thought of that before?  If he were passed out, he wouldn't exactly be able to stop her from going through his pockets now would he?

Suddenly enlivened by this new idea, she stooped and picked his cup out of his hand.  Bootstrap looked up at her surprised as she filled his mug to brimming and handed it back to him, then she helped herself and plopped down next to him.

Bootstrap had taken her offering without question and eyed her appreciatively.  " What's this for, Miss Emma?"

" Nothing, just thought you might like some more." She said with forced cheerfulness, and then raised her mug. " To a swift voyage!"

" Aye! To Nassau!" Bootstrap lifted his drink. The toast was echoed by a few more pirates in the vicinity as they all tipped their mugs and drank heavily. Emma watched as he drank, the golden liquid spilled over the rim of the mug, running down his chin and dripped onto his shirt. With a start, she suddenly realized she was staring and quickly looked away.  Her eyes strayed to Jack, who was currently drinking himself into a stupor across the ring of dancers and singing, completely oblivious!

Emma bristled, remembering her disagreement, and turned back to Bootstrap with renewed vigor.  The alcohol that clouded her mind made her feel very bold. She poked him hard in the chest and said forcefully.  " Do you have any idea how angry I am with you?"

" Do you have any idea how fascinated I am with you?" He answered her.

" That's hardly proper!" Emma said acidly.  " I'm not that interesting."

" Not interesting? Yer a bloody mermaid!"

" I'm also in love with Jack Sparrow!" She said exasperated, then paused for a long swig of rum, " So I strongly suggest that you contain your indecent proposals!"

"I haven't proposed anything remotely indecent to ye!"

" Good!"

" Good!" 

The party continued for Emma in this manner until the lanterns had burned most of their oil and were all at a very low glow, sending eerie shadows over the pirates who were finally starting to slow down and fall asleep on the deck one by one. The alcohol in Emma's system was starting to fade and she felt her sobriety coming back, along with a strong desire to curl into a ball and go to sleep.   But her mission was still not complete, and she was beginning to feel desperate.  No matter how many drinks she brought Bootstrap, the man simply didn't want to pass out.  He could put his alcohol away like no man she had ever seen before.

" _He's even more tolerant than Jack_!" She thought with a hint of desperation.  But as soon as she thought this, she was suddenly assaulted by the loud thud of a body hitting the deck.  Bootstrap had tried to stand, and being unsuccessful, tripped on her skirts, which were billowed out around her legs and fell flat on his face in front of her.  There he lay quite still.  Her heart quickened and she would have jumped for joy.  Finally!  Emma eagerly leaned over the body and reached towards his pocket.

" Goodness!" came a voice from behind her. Emma jumped back startled and whirled around to see Elizabeth looking down at the man with an air of distaste.  " He can't even bring himself to his own bed?"

" I'll help him." Offered Will, who wordlessly handed Jamie over to his mother.  The boy had been curled up against his father's shoulder, with one arm soundly wrapped around the wooden sword (his newest prize possession) and the other around his father's neck.  He was sound asleep.  " Emma, where is Claire? I haven't seen her around recently."

" Oh, I put her to bed a while ago." Emma replied quickly. "Will, why don't you help Elizabeth with Jamie? I can take care of Henry…"

Will raised an eyebrow at her.  " Do you really think you can carry him?"

" Of course!" replied Emma defensively. " Why shouldn't you think I can?"

" Think you can what?" Jack's voice came up suddenly on the other side of her.  Emma whirled back around to regard the pirate captain, who was stooping over the body of Bootstrap with a look of mirth.

" Why should you care?" Emma said in a huff. " You were so busy drinking with Gibbs, I'm surprised you haven't passed out already."

Jack shot her an incredulous look, " Speak for yerself love, I'm not the one who spent the entire night trying to get another man drunk."

Emma winced and glanced discreetly at Elizabeth, whose eyebrows shot up with obvious surprise.  Will looked from Emma, to _Henry_, to Jack, and back again and his face fell into a contemplative frown.

 "I can lift him." Emma said quickly, eager to change the subject, " He is on my skirt after all."

Jack shook his head,  " In all my years of knowing him… I've seldom seen him drink himself into such a stupor…"

Will stiffened, shot a discreet look at Elizabeth and then bent towards Jack eagerly.  " How many years would that be, Jack?"

Jack glanced up at the younger man, and then his face broke into a smile. " Oh, a fair amount..." 

Will's face faltered slightly at this and they both straightened up and regarded each other.  Will with a challenging look, Jack with an amused one.  Emma took this distraction to her advantage and quickly bent over Bootstrap, pretending to try and work him over off of her skirt. She reached for his coat pocket, but just as she found the fold in the fabric and was about to slide her hand inside, she felt the body underneath her shift as Jack had bent to help her.

" Let me get that for you, love." He said helpfully.

" No, really that's okay." Emma straightened up quickly; cursing her back luck as Jack easily lifted the man off her skirt.  

Jack shook his head 'no' to her and with a heave rolled him over out of their way.  " Jest let him sleep it off right here on deck.  It's a fine night out."

" Oh… thank you." She said, hoping that the shadows the lantern cast would hide her disappointment as Jack grabbed her arm and hoisted her up. She tottered on unsteady legs and a wave of dizziness passed over her.  She leaned against Jack for support and felt his strong arm loop around her waist, keeping her on her feet.

Will, cowed by Jack's lack of compliance to answer his questions, reluctantly allowed himself to be led away by Elizabeth.

_" He's hiding something… I know it!"_ He muttered audibly under his breath to his wife.

" Of course he is, but you won't get anywhere by asking him directly. You'd have a better chance if you got to know _Henry_ better.  He seems to like you." Elizabeth said.  " I see him watching you out of the corner of his eyes all the time.  He probably thinks he's being very discreet too.  Honestly!"

" Really?" Will frowned at her.  " I haven't noticed."

" Well, you have to be aware of these things to notice." Elizabeth said a little exasperated.  " Try paying attention next time…"

Their conversation dwindled and died away, both of them were sauced enough to not be concerned with who overheard their conversations.  Emma and Jack were perfectly still and listened quietly until they couldn't hear anything else. Emma realized that it was too quiet, and looked around to discover that Jack and herself were the only two left awake among the slumbering crewmembers.  Most of the men it seemed had also decided to spend the night under the stars. Emma looked up at Jack as he helped her towards their cabin. 

" Jack, do you know that you are the most insufferable pirate I know?" She said, knowing that it was not necessarily true, but feeling particularly disgruntled that he'd managed twice to foil her plans to steal the disc. 

" Insufferable, am I?" Jack replied with amusement.  " What happened to terrible? Or that word you used last night, what was it?  Oh yes… irresistible?"

            " You have no idea." She said with a wry laugh.  " I can think of loads more!"

            " Enlighten me, darling…" He said as he pushed the door to his cabin open and led her inside.

            " Devious, cunning, gentile, flamboyant, notorious, piratical--"

            " --Piratical! I like that one." Jack interrupted.

            " Charismatic, irresistible, impossible, unpredictable…" She continued rambling one word after another that came to her mind as he dropped her on the bed. " Quick, interesting, untrustworthy, Dishonest—"

" You are too kind, love." He said with a flourish as he threw his hat into its accustomed spot on the tabletop.

" I'm not finished yet." She said coolly.

" Oh? Then by all means… finish…"

" …" Emma paused, thinking for a moment, then said triumphantly.  "Despicable!"

Jack raised an eyebrow at her and folded his arms, " There's one you're forgetting you know…"

" What is that?"

He jumped on the bed and gave her a mischievous gold toothed grin, his eyes lit up as he said,  " Virile…"

Emma's heart quickened at his look,  " Oh… That was next on my list."

Jack leaned in and kissed her.

" Jack…" She interrupted him, pushing him away a little forcefully.  " I'm sorry about what I said earlier this morning."  
            Jack waved her apology off with a shrug, " Forgiven, love." Then he smiled, and leaned back in to kiss the side of her neck eagerly.

Emma pursed her lips feeling slightly annoyed. Here she was trying to apologize, feeling genuinely bad about how she'd acted, and he wasn't taking her seriously?  Had everything he told her that morning been a big joke?  Had she been worrying all day over their argument for nothing?  

She had a sinking feeling that that might be the case; nevertheless, she felt the need to clear her conscience.  " I'm also sorry about tonight, with Bootstrap."

" Forgiven again," Jack's voice was muffled as he kissed his way down towards her cleavage.  He seemed determined to not let anything distract him from his course of action.

" You really are insufferable!" She cried exasperated. " Does nothing bother you?"

" On the contrary, darling…" Jack said, his head popped up and he surveyed her, slightly annoyed at the delay in his exploration, " It's not a matter of what does or doesn't bother me.  I just don't let anything get in the way of what I want."

Emma paused as his reply echoed in her mind.  

" _Don't let anything get in the way…"_

It was good advice.  She thought of her mission to steal the Seal of Cleito.  Yes! That was the answer… that was what she was missing!  That was the key!  She couldn't let outside things distract her.  Go for broke. Don't hold back. Stop at nothing! It was for the greater good… for the safety of all the lives that she loved…Even if she had to seduce the coat right off of Bootstrap's back, she would do it.  Jack would understand.  She would make him understand…  

Her eyes drifted closed with these new revelations. She was thankful for Jack's warm, protective presence, and his unintentional advice.

" Oh really?" She said sleepily,  " And what is it that you want?" 

She fought to stay awake, but the alcohol she'd consumed, plus the work and the stress of the day were too much for her to resist.  And now that she'd apologized, cleared her thoughts, and come to a conclusion with her present problems, she was happy to escape into a blissful, relaxing slumber. She fell asleep lulled by the caresses of Jack's lips on her skin, and the gentle whisper of his voice in her ear.

" Now love, do you really have to ask?"

A/N- sneak peak for next chapter:  Much is revealed about the Seal, Acaelum, and just what the heck is Cleito anyways? =) Leave me yer comments!


	5. Seal of Cleito Update

After seeing the last review I felt I had to write something… NO I'm not DEAD… =P I am still alive!! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to give you this update and I don't blame you all for thinking that I AM dead… I haven't exactly written anything lately to make you think otherwise!

   As it must already seem totally obvious to you, I haven't made any updates in several months… and in all honesty I don't know when I will get it finished.  I am not abandoning the fic completely. I'm not saying, "No, I don't think I'll ever finish it."  I just have lost enthusiasm for the time being, I still have my notes and outlines and I find myself thinking about it from time to time but in all honesty, real life, my boyfriend, family, and work have become my new priority. 

I am sorry but I have little time for fanfiction writing lately.  I'm not in school and I don't have the luxury of as much free time as I would like (or need) to write and finish The Seal of Cleito.  Writing comes in random bursts for me.  The Secret of Hell Water and The Seal of Cleito was written during an unusually large burst of creativity that was inspired by 'Pirates of the Caribbean' when it came out in theaters last summer during a lull where work was unusually slow for me.  Unfortunately that creative burst has faded and work has once again taken priority. But I will get to it when I feel the writing bug gnawing at me again and time permits me.  If any of you are familiar with my earlier works, you'll know that it has taken me sometimes up to two years in the past to finish a story.   Maybe not as fast as many of you would want, but I DO eventually get around to it.  The Seal of Cleito, is a story that has interest to me, not to mention a lot of potential to be a great piece of fiction upon completion.  I don't abandon stories like that completely, even if I loose enthusiasm from time to time it doesn't mean I won't finish it.

   So please bear with me!

   Sincerely,

             Raya


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